{"id":17987,"date":"2014-02-17T16:25:36","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T21:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=17987"},"modified":"2014-02-17T16:26:39","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T21:26:39","slug":"pandora-suit-may-upend-century-old-royalty-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=17987","title":{"rendered":"“Pandora Suit May Upend Century-Old Royalty Plan”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m linking to this lawsuit news<\/a> because it affects a lot of my friends \u2014 songwriters:<\/p>\n

As the music industry races toward a future of digital streams and smartphone apps, its latest crisis centers on a regulatory plan that has been in place since \u201cChattanooga Choo Choo\u201d was a hit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since 1941, Ascap and BMI, the two giant licensing organizations that dominate music publishing, have been governed by consent decrees with the Justice Department. These agreements were made to guarantee fair royalty rates for songwriters and for the radio stations, television networks and even restaurants and retail shops that play their music.<\/em><\/p>\n

But with the industry struggling to make money from digital music, this system has come under attack. The streaming service Pandora<\/a> is squaring off against Ascap in a closely watched trial over royalty payments. Big music publishers like Sony\/ATV and Universal are calling on the government to overhaul the system, and technology companies are accusing the publishers of trying to skirt federal rules meant to protect them. …
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\u201cWhat\u2019s happening with these court cases will determine the future of the music publishing and songwriting industries,\u201d said David Israelite, the president of the National Music Publishers\u2019 Association. \u201cIt is simply unfair to ask songwriters and publishers to be paid something less than a fair market rate for their intellectual property.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And if you didn’t know what BMI and Ascap did \u2014 or know that every time you hear a song broadcast over the radio, the songwriter and publisher get a royalty \u2014 you might want to read the whole article.<\/p>\n

By the way, I have never listened to music via Pandora. A friend had to explain to me what it was. “Oh,” I said, and continued listening to music on my radio. Which I am doing right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m linking to this lawsuit news because it affects a lot of my friends \u2014 songwriters: As the music industry races toward a future of digital streams and smartphone apps, its latest crisis centers on a regulatory plan that has … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[603],"class_list":["post-17987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-news","tag-intellectual-property-lawsuits"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t