Pandora and ASCAP are hardly the best of friends in 2013, thanks to the former’s desire to lower its royalty rates. Now another battle line has been drawn, with Billboard reporting that Pandora has filed a motion with ASCAP’s rate court claiming music publishers cannot withdraw their rights from ASCAP in order to strike (higher) direct deals with Pandora. Universal, BMG Chrysalis and Warner/Chappell are all expected to do just that on 1 July. As the article notes, Pandora paid 4.3% of its revenues to music publishers last year, but the majors are thought to have secured a 10% rate from Apple for its upcoming iTunes Radio service. Pandora is trying to lock the publishers back in to ASCAP’s mandatory rates, although the fact that it has already done one direct deal, with Sony/ATV, could hamper its case. Yet with a ruling not expected until late July, Pandora’s licensing status next month looks set to be in flux.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools :: Wyng
Through Music Ally’s internal marketing campaign tracking, we’ve recently discovered an interesting website by the…