RUMOR MILL
Thursday, November 5, 2015
SONY/ATV INKS LICENSING PACT WITH PANDORA
In a major move, Sony/ATV has inked a multi-year licensing agreement with Pandora. The pact, both parties say, "modernizes" compensation for use of catalogue on the streaming-radio giant. The deal doesn't affect Pandora's performance-royalty obligations.
With the agreement, they contend, the pubco will be able to deliver bigger royalties to songwriters and Pandora will enjoy consistency on rates and flexibility for its offerings.
Sony/ATV ruler Marty Bandier called it "a major step in the right direction to ensure that our songwriters are fairly compensated for the use of their music on streaming services," adding, "We are pleased that our songwriters will begin to enjoy the benefit of better rates on one of the most important platforms for music consumption and discovery. It is part of our ongoing strategy to ensure that all digital music services recognize the indispensable value that the words and music of a song bring to their businesses.”
“This is a significant milestone in our long-standing effort to strengthen ties with the music maker community,” said Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews, chief executive officer of Pandora. “Over 10 years, Pandora has built music’s most powerful marketing engine, which we put into action every day for Sony/ATV’s storied catalog. By partnering directly with Sony/ATV, we are proud to lock in our opportunity to connect an incredibly talented community of songwriters with streaming music’s largest and most passionate audience.”
The deal follows an era marked by serious discord between the companies, as the pubco complained of inadequate rate structures and the tech company sought legislative relief for its payout burdens.
