Bosses behind the service were slapped with an $11 billion copyright lawsuit in 2011 by a number of record labels, whose executives accused the company of illegally uploading 100,000 songs to the site.

Grooveshark chiefs claimed they were not liable for copyright violations made by users, but they have now retreated and shut down the operation entirely as part of their court settlement.

A statement posted on Grooveshark.com reads, "Today we are shutting down Grooveshark. We started out nearly 10 years ago with the goal of helping fans share and discover music. But despite best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes... We apologise. Without reservation. As part of a settlement agreement with the major record companies, we have agreed to cease operations immediately...

"At that time of our launch, few music services provided the experience we wanted to offer ­and think you deserve. Fortunately, that's no longer the case. There are now hundreds of fan friendly, affordable services available for you to choose from, including Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, Beats Music... If you love music and respect the artists, songwriters and everyone else who makes great music possible, use a licenced service that compensates artists and other rights holders... Thank you for being such passionate fans."