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Pandora, Nearing Survival Deal, Gets New Threat From NAB
Posted by Wilson Rothman at 9:16 AM on September 27, 2008
CNet earlier today broke a story about how the National Association of Broadcasters—traditional broadcasting conglomerates and others who think HD Radio is more vital than the internet—is trying to kill a brand new bill that could save Pandora and other web radio services. We've done some reporting of our own, and the situation does indeed seem dire. If you love your Pandora, here's what's going on, and how you can help save its very existence:
Though we had previously feared the worst, Pandora honcho Tim Westergren told us today that he and other web broadcasters were about to reach a settlement with SoundExchange, the RIAA and the Copyright Royalty Board. They needed a bit more time, which would be granted by a new bill, HR 7084. Though the bill, introduced by Congressman Jay Inslee and others, only extends the negotiation period, Westergren told us that it's the clincher. "We've negotiating for over a year, but people on both sides are now feeling optimistic about getting a deal done," he says. "This bill is a signal of that. We need more time, but we're getting there."
Enter the NAB, who issued the following statement to us and others from Executive VP Dennis Wharton:
NAB has concerns related to Congress attempting to fast-track a bill introduced less than 24 hours ago that could have serious implications for broadcasters, webcasters, and consumers of music. NAB spent more than a year trying to work out an equitable agreement on webcasting rates, only to be stonewalled by SoundExchange and the record labels. We will continue to work with policymakers on a solution that is fair to all parties.
The funny part about this, at least to Westergren, is that this bill and subsequent settlement would actually grant broadcasters lower fees on the internet, too. "If this falls apart, [NAB members] pay more for their webcasts, too," he says. "So there's only one interpretation, that they are trying to kill us."
Man, Pandora, why is everyone out to get you? If you readers feel like forming up in Pandora's defence, tell your congressperson that you support HR 7084, aka the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008. Congressional switchboard is (202) 225-3121, and you know your congressperson has a website, right? Since Capitol Hill is abuzz nights and weekends trying to stem the financial crisis, you can pretty much call at any hour and someone will answer. [Pandora]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
spider2544
Posted 10:08 AM 27/9/08
you think that everyone would be pushing as hard as they could to keep pandora alive, because it has certainly stoped people like me from downloading music so much. oh well if pandora goes down i can always go back to my theiving days hehe
spider2544
Pwnage
Posted 9:57 AM 27/9/08
Damn Gov! If they bring down Pandora, I will personally go and annihilate all RIAA offices
Welcome to the real world, RIAA Bitches!
Pwnage
BasicBlack
Posted 9:44 AM 27/9/08
@Kaiser-Machead:
Call me an infant, but having "nugget" and "assholish" in the same sentence made me forget everything else you said. Now that I think about it, even an infant would find nothing related to poop amusing. Poop is the enemy.
BasicBlack
Marcelo
Posted 9:43 AM 27/9/08
Right now there are other bills with more significant changes being fast-tracked through the Senate and the House, one in particular that's going to take 700 billion dollars of your money and give it to a bunch of rich people. Make sure to double your support for the little guy by letting your Senator know how much that one sucks too.
Marcelo
s0crates82
Posted 9:40 AM 27/9/08
@Kaiser-Machead: Friends help friends hide the bodies.
s0crates82
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 9:34 AM 27/9/08
@WD40: I'll help you dispose of the evidence.
Kaiser-Machead
WD40
Posted 9:33 AM 27/9/08
I swear I will kill someone (hopefully someone smaller than me and totally out of shape) if they shut down Pandora...
WD40
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 9:28 AM 27/9/08
There has to be like a bald guy with an eye patch stroking his white Persian cat laughing meniacally while the bones of prior enemies lay littered about the gravel bed of his shark tank throughout all of this. No one can seriously convince me that there isn't some pure nugget of assholish evil that this all revolves around.
Kaiser-Machead
Abnormal
Posted 10:19 AM 27/9/08
I really liked Pandora till they blocked my IP(Canada and UK) I would like to see them survive so I can eventually use it again. And to think Pandora actually helped me buy more cd's. After it was blocked I haven't bought one since.
Abnormal
johnmc
Posted 10:52 AM 27/9/08
I have also purchased more music as a direct result of hearing it on Pandora. Why can't these clowns at the RIAA figure out that by being able to get recommendations, people are more likely to actually make a purchase?
johnmc
notsoserious
Posted 11:24 AM 27/9/08
Sounds like they are trying to settle with the RIAA, and NAB is the bad guy here.
"...Tim Westergren told us today that he and other web broadcasters were about to reach a settlement with SoundExchange, the RIAA and the Copyright Royalty Board. "
notsoserious
Wilson Rothman
Posted 11:41 AM 27/9/08
@notsoserious: Yep, you read it right. That's what's so frustrating for Pandora, and why I call NAB a "new threat."
Wilson Rothman
frigg
Posted 12:06 PM 27/9/08
This is just insane.
It's Clear Channel and the NAB against the 21st century.
Prime example of anachronistic law gasping behind the actual pace of technological progress.
frigg
Bender
Posted 11:59 AM 27/9/08
Pandora is how I find new music. I do not listen to music on the radio. So let them run Pandora out of business. It's not going to drive me to radio.
In fact the RIAA ought to have Pandora's back on this one. They stand to lose a lot if the NAB screws it up.
In the ~5 years before I found Pandora, I had probably bought 1 CD. I wasn't illegally downloading songs either. I just didn't add anything to my collection.
I've been a regular Pandora user probably the last two years. In those two years I've probably bought at least 10 CD's and 30-40 legal paid song downloads.
Pandora goes away, and my method of finding new music goes away.
Bender
frigg
Posted 12:17 PM 27/9/08
@Wilson Rothman: The NAB (i.e. Clear Channel) isn't a new threat. It's just that the RIAA has been such a successful poster boy for the dinosaur music industry, that this anachronism gets less press.
frigg
dingus
Posted 12:11 PM 27/9/08
@s0crates82: I'll start watching Fargo and Pulp Fiction for ideas.
dingus
dingus
Posted 12:09 PM 27/9/08
I can't believe I just wrote my rep about this first instead of about the bailouts. Seriously, after being tethered to Pandora for iPhone for the last couple of months, I may go into some sort of withdrawal shock.
And yes, I have bought music that I heard on Pandora. In fact, since getting hooked, I haven't torrented a single song.
dingus
collider
Posted 1:04 PM 27/9/08
Write to your god damn congressperson.
[www.visi.com]
collider
collider
Posted 1:42 PM 27/9/08
@dingus: I'm in the same boat. Admittedly, part of the reason I don't torrent the music I find on Pandora is due to the fact that most the stuff I like is too obscure to find on torrent sites, but also because Pandora definitely made me way more aware of what I like and what I don't like. I used to be the kind of guy who'd say he was into all kinds of music, and all of a sudden I find myself one of the pickiest music snobs I know. That said, I'm finding myself feeling good about giving my money to artists I genuinely enjoy, and 100% of the musicians I've given my money to in the past 10 years has been a direct result of having found them on Pandora. No exaggeration.
collider
firestorm117
Posted 2:38 PM 27/9/08
Did my part in this... or at least 1/2. I wrote to one of my senators. Was goinna forward the message to the other but the stupid thing didn't cut and paste.
firestorm117
geoffcbassett
Posted 1:15 AM 28/9/08
@Marcelo: can you give a little bit more detail on which bill it is?
geoffcbassett
Charbax2
Posted 2:27 AM 28/9/08
Can't they just charge people a few cents per hour of streaming and require them to login and authenticate themselves if the law requires that kind of payment?
Charbax2
brutek
Posted 2:24 AM 28/9/08
SAVE SOMA FM!!!
brutek
stokessd
Posted 3:08 AM 28/9/08
IF pandora goes away, that's just more pirate bay'ing of music for me. I can either listen and find music via pandora then buy the stuff I really like. Or I can download bunches of music from TPB and keep what I like and toss the rest. I suppose I could BUY the stuff I like, but since I already have it, it's hard to justify...
Sheldon
stokessd
jonny
Posted 9:51 AM 28/9/08
@johnmc: Ditto here. Pretty much everything I buy these days came from a pandora listen.
jonny
nystreetfilms
Posted 11:52 PM 28/9/08
EMAILing your congressman is easy. do it.
here's how you find them:
[forms.house.gov]
and then just google "email" and the name of your rep. Here is NYC in the 10003:
[www.house.gov]
DO IT! Pandora is awesome!
nystreetfilms
khamer
Posted 2:57 AM 29/9/08
Just Emailed mine (NH)-- they both have 'Email Me' links right on their websites.
Best of luck to this, I'd hate to see webcasting take a dire turn downhill
khamer
MauriceGautschi
Posted 9:42 AM 28/9/08
My local radio sucks. These kinds of services are the only way I get to hear a wide range of music. I buy that music via Amazon.com and iTunes or the occasional CD.
MauriceGautschi