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musicFIRST Slams Pandora Executives
The folks at musicFIRST think it's somewhat hypocritical of Pandora to be fighting for lower royalty rates as executives at the company cash out stock. musicFIRST says an investigation it conducted has uncovered Pandora executives have cashed out more than $35 million worth of stock. musicFIRST Executive Director Ted Kalo says, “While Westergren and Pandora stuff one pocket with stock option cash, they turn the other pocket inside out to Congress, cry poor, and demand a handout from working class musicians.”
Here's the entire musicFIRST blog post...
"While Pandora continues to lobby lawmakers to slash royalty payments to thousands of musicians and labels, top company management at the Wall Street giant have cashed out company stock worth over $35 million since Pandora’s $235 million IPO in June 2011, according to financial documents analyzed by musicFIRST investigators, with some transactions occurring as recently as October 16. Additionally, these top executives were also paid $11.8 million by the company in FY2012 according to its own proxy statement (note: Pandora founder Tim Westergren is not listed among the five top executives, but has cashed out stock worth over $9 million since the IPO).
"Nearly five years ago, Pandora negotiated discounted royalty rates with music industry organization SoundExchange, subsequently codified into law in the Webcaster Settlement Act. At the time, Pandora praised the deal and exclaimed to its listeners 'the royalty crisis is over!' [more details here]. Pandora is now a publicly traded company on Wall Street, valued at over $1.4 billion as of October 31st, and boasting 'record' revenues to shareholders, and asking Congress to enact the so-called 'Internet Radio Fairness Act' which once again seeks to lower the rates it must pay artists and labels – this time while its executives continue to make millions."
“Pandora has the gall to complain about the fraction of a penny they pay artists for use of our music – without which Pandora couldn’t exist – while Pandora’s top executives have been busy compensating themselves to the tune of millions of dollars per year in salary, bonuses, and stock option grants,” said Ray Hair, President of the American Federation of Musicians. “These guys seem to have no problem exploiting the artists and musicians who give their hearts and souls to creating the music that is the lifeblood of Pandora’s service. We can only hope Congress will see Pandora’s latest attempt to weasel out of the royalty agreement for what it is: an unfair act of pure greed."
“While Westergren and Pandora stuff one pocket with stock option cash, they turn the other pocket inside out to Congress, cry poor and demand a handout from working class musicians,” said musicFirst Coalition Executive Director Ted Kalo. “It's breathtaking, disingenuous, and patently unfair. With a 1.4 billion market cap and a $235 million IPO, we are hopeful Congress will see through this charade.”
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(11/1/2012 9:37:08 PM) For me, the reality is very clear. Everyone, terrestrial radio, web, Sirius/XM, Pandora, have to pay royalties to the artists. It is their creativity and recordings that allows broadcasters to sell advertising. Having said that, it needs to be equitable across all platforms. Even if one agrees that Pandora's rates are too high, Sirius/XM's are too low due to Grandfathering, and radio has had a free ride for far too long. |
| - Bruce |
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(11/1/2012 4:39:39 PM) Bruce- I appreciate your info but I completely stand by my comments. Broadcast radio currently pays the artists ZERO so radio needs to be really careful what they are criticizing because eventually broadcast radio isn't going to be free. Should the SE royalty rates be applied to broadcast radio a whole lot of broadcasters would be gone tomorrow. And it is getting harder and harder to argue as to why it shouldn’t be the same. Further, the issue at stake isn't so much a Pandora issue as it is an issue for all webcasters. Unless you are Pandora it is very, very difficult for anyone to make money with the current royalty structure- and this is ultimately hurting the artists because it limits the ability for people and companies to launch new products as it requires more capital and ultimately that means more risk. |
| - Guest |
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(11/1/2012 1:32:52 PM) Thanks, Bruce. Considering that music-radio -- both internet and terra are offering the tunes as their "product", one can be forgiven for expecting that the writers, producers, feature artists, players and copyright holders might want to participate in a fair and equitable manner. I can hear the shareholders whining from right across the lake (Ontario). |
| - Ronald T. Robinson |
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(11/1/2012 1:32:38 PM) Well, think about how much Bob Struble and your Big Group Radio executives are going to make if iNiquity ever gets their fraudulent IPO. They will also cash out, retire someplace outside of US law, and leave you idiots with your airwaves in shambles. So, you want to criticize Pandora? LOL! |
| - iNiquity |
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(11/1/2012 12:49:17 PM) Regarding the SE overhead, it fluctuates, but is considered to be one of the lowest of the collectives. Last I checked, it was less than 10%. Most charge 15% and ASCAP/BMI, while difficult to determine, are thought to be higher, 18% or more. |
| - Bruce |
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