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Comment by _jomo | Hacker News Reader

I really liked Grooveshark because it had a proper HTML5 player before they shut down. I was looking for alternatives and recently found Rdio and was quite happy with it, actually it has a lot in common with Grooveshark (e.g. user stations).

Both Spotify and Deezer have web apps but they require Flash. Spotify has forwarded people asking for an HTML player to the forum and they have successfully ignored it for years. I sent Deezer a mail, they told me to "rest assured we are considering all options" and "if a transition is made it will take some time to implement".

Are there any alternatives that do not require a custom client or Flash (that also work in Europe)?

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From being in the same position I've switched to soundcloud and mixcloud. They're not a true substitute in that they don't generally have the complete discography of artists as GS did, but they do have a decent chunk of it in mixes promos. On the other hand, both are better with respect to discovery, and mixcloud has something similar to user stations in that mixes are curated and tracklists are available (albeit in a silly manner[1]). Both are HTML5.

[1]: http://support.mixcloud.com/customer/portal/articles/1564645...

The Google Play Music library is excellent (I think it's still the biggest). You could try something like this:

http://bluestackstutorial.com/2015/07/google-play-music-for-...

Someone else just pointed out Google Play Music as well. Apparently it works in the Browser without Flash?

Yes, no flash needed.

It does need Flash, according to Google anyway[1]. People might be missing the Flash requirement because Flash is bundled with Chrome.

1. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1114577?hl=en

The default player needs the Flash plugin, but there's an experimental HTML5 player that works in Chrome/Chromium (even the BSD ports). I have used it almost exclusively for the past 9 months or so, and had no problems with it.

Here's how to enable it: https://www.maketecheasier.com/enable-html5-playback-google-...

If you're willing to host it yourself, Plex has a web UI that doesn't require Flash and a set of mobile apps (that support syncing for offline playback). You're providing the content yourself, though.

Google Play Music uses Media Source Extensions[1], so no Flash required.

https://w3c.github.io/media-source/

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