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# Bette Midler: 4.1 Million Pandora Streams = $114, “Impossible for songwriters to earn a living”
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/bette-midler-41-million-pandora-streams-114-impossible-for-songwriters-to-earn-a-living/
- Published: 2014-04-07T11:28:00.000Z
- Updated: 2014-04-07T11:28:00.000Z
- Description: Bette Midler has joined the slowly growing chorus of musicians and songwriters concerned about payments from streaming music services. ".@Spotify and @Pandora have made it impossible for songwriters to earn. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/04/bette-midler-41-million-pandora-st
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Music Tech, Songwriting & Music Publishing, Streaming, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:38

[![bette midler](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201a3fce91109970b-150wi "bette midler")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201a3fce91109970b-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

Bette Midler has joined the slowly growing chorus of musicians and songwriters concerned about payments from streaming music services. ".[@Spotify](https://twitter.com/Spotify?ref=hypebot.com) and [@Pandora](https://twitter.com/Pandora?ref=hypebot.com) have made it impossible for songwriters to earn a living: three months streaming on Pandora, 4,175,149 plays=$114.11," Midler tweeted over the weekend.

**Pandora says Midler has the math all wrong.**

> [![bette midler](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201a73da3cd46970d-50wi "bette midler")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201a73da3cd46970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com).[@Spotify](https://twitter.com/Spotify?ref=hypebot.com) and [@Pandora](https://twitter.com/Pandora?ref=hypebot.com) have made it impossible for songwriters to earn a living: three months streaming on Pandora, 4,175,149 plays=$114.11.  
>  
> — Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) [April 4, 2014](https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/statuses/452200886970769408?ref=hypebot.com)

"We love Bette’s music and certainly respect her advocacy for fair compensation for artists," a Pandora spokespersom responded. "But we must clarify an important fact: Pandora paid more than $6,400 for those 4+ million plays, based on our 2014 rates which are published publicly.

"In terms of compensation to the creative community Pandora remains by far the highest paying form of radio," the response continued. "Pandora pays songwriters a greater percentage of revenue than terrestrial radio. And Pandora paid 48% of our revenue in performance royalties to rightsholders in 2013 – more than $300 million – while terrestrial radio was required to pay nothing."

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