Skip to main content

Pandora sued by US music labels over royalties for pre-1972 tracks

Pandora
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Streaming radio service Pandora is being sued by a number of high profile music labels accusing it of failing to pay royalties for the use of recordings made before 1972.

While US copyright law only covers recordings made after 1972, some state laws, including New York’s where the lawsuit has been filed, do offer copyright protection for older material.

The labels bringing the lawsuit – Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, ABKCO Music & Records, Capitol Records, and UMG Recordings – said in the filing the content at the center of the case includes “some of the most iconic music in the world”, Reuters reported Thursday.

The plaintiffs called on Pandora to end what it described as “massive and continuing unauthorized commercial exploitation” of these older music tracks, which include songs by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, and Fleetwood Mac.

It added that the Internet radio service’s “refusal” to pay royalties for use of the material was “fundamentally unfair.”

Commenting on the case to Digital Trends, Pandora’s Mollie Starr said on Thursday the company is “confident in its legal position and looks forward to a quick resolution of the matter.”

However, in a regulatory filing back in February, Pandora acknowledged that if it is found to have violated the copyright of pre-1972 material, the penalty could be “significant,” adding that if it is ordered to obtain licenses, the costs involved “could harm our business and operating results.”

Spiraling costs

The music streaming service, which has around 250 million (mostly US-based) registered users, currently pays out around half its revenue in royalty payments to music labels and artists. In an effort to cover its spiraling costs, the service announced recently that from next month its Pandora One monthly subscription plan will rise by a dollar to $4.99. On top of that, it’ll be ending the annual subscription option that allowed for a discounted rate of $36 per year.

“The costs of delivering this service have grown considerably,” a spokesperson for the company said at the time. “For example, the royalty rates Pandora pays to performers via SoundExchange for subscription listening have increased 53 percent in the last five years and will increase another 9 percent in 2015.”

Since launching in 2005, the service has grown to become the dominant player in music streaming in the US, with 31 percent of the market. To give that figure some context, iHeartRadio comes in behind Pandora with a mere 9 percent share, with Apple’s recently launched iTunes Radio in third spot with 8 percent of the market.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more
How to switch from Spotify to Apple Music
Spotify and Apple Music transfer on a smartphone.

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service for a reason. It has a massive catalog of music and podcasts, is full of cool music discovery and sharing features, and is really easy to use.
However, with its recent price increase and the fact that it still hasn't joined most of its peers in offering a hi-res audio quality option, you may be considering jumping ship for its closest competitor, Apple Music, which counts lossless hi-res tracks, mind-bending spatial audio, Dolby Atmos Music tracks, and a catalog that rivals Spotify's among the many attractive reasons to switch.

But there's one problem: you’ve spent a lot of time creating playlists and marking songs and albums as your favorites in Spotify. Is it worth the switch? Will all that hard work be lost in translation?

Read more
The best laptops for music production, chosen by experts
best laptops for music production

The world has gone pretty far when it comes to the processing power that we carry around with us, and if you're big into music production, then you're the luckiest of all. Some of the best laptops on the market have high-end CPUs for relatively low prices, which means that if you want to do music production on a laptop, you have a huge number of choices. Of course, that does also mean that it can be hard to navigate and pick the best laptop for your budget and needs, which is why we've done the legwork for you. We've collected our favorite picks below in various categories so that you can pick them with ease. Plus, we've even thrown in a quick guide on what to look for so that if you don't find what you want here, you can check out these other laptop deals for alternatives.
The Best Laptops for Music Production

Best overall laptop for music production:
Best Windows device for music production:
Best portable laptop for music production:
Best large-screen laptop for music production:
Best for 2-in-1 laptop for music production:

Read more