ONE IN PANDORA'S BOX

Online radio pioneer Pandora won a victory in a New York federal court yesterday, when U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote declared rights holders' withdrawal of their digital rights from ASCAP was in violation of a 1941 consent decree. ASCAP went to court to assert its right to proceed under its existing license despite such narrowed permissions.

Pandora's five-year deal with the performance-rights organization, the judge declared, means it has a right to stream all content under ASCAP auspices at the negotiated blanket rate.

Thus the publishers who pulled "new media" rights from ASCAP to protest what they deemed unfair compensation must be "all in" or "all out"; per the 2001 adjusted decree, or AFJ2, "'ASCAP repretory' is defined in terms of 'works' and not 'individual rights' in works," Judge Cote declared. It seems highly likely that ASCAP will appeal the decision.

How will the judge's ruling affect deals with other digital services? Will ASCAP's role in the music ecosystem be transformed if it holds? Did Judge Cote's apparent distaste for ASCAP result in an overly sweeping decision, and might this be altered in a subsequent decision by a different judge?

And what about Pandora? With new capitalization and a victory under its belt, the streaming-radio firm is having a good week, but today also marks the debut of a little thing called iTunes Radio, which in some circles has already be called the "Pandora Killer."

We'll have more on this story and the streaming space very soon.