> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Pandora Suing ASCAP For Lower Licensing Fees
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/pandora-suing-ascap-for-lower-licensing-fees/
- Published: 2012-11-07T08:54:52.000Z
- Updated: 2012-11-07T08:54:52.000Z
- Description: Pandora has taken performance rights organization ASCAP to federal court in hopes of paying lower rates for the performance of ASCAP songwriters and composers’ works. The lawsuit comes after the. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/11/pandora-suing-ascap-for-lower-licensing-fees.h
- Author: admin
- Tags: Songwriting & Music Publishing, Streaming, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:49

[![Untitled-1](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2017d3d60e771970c-200wi "Untitled-1")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2017d3d60e771970c-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

[](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)[Pandora](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)  
[has taken performance rights organization ](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)[ASCAP](https://www.hypebot.com/ascap-onstage/) to federal court **in hopes of paying**  
[**lower rates** for the performance of ASCAP songwriters and composers’ works. The lawsuit](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)  
[comes after the two sides **failed to reach an agreement** on lower music licensing](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)  
[fees together, as Pandora found it difficult to reach profitability with the](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)  
[current payout structure. The Oakland, California-based company is now calling](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)  
[on federal courts to set more “reasonable” rates for the licensing fees it](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)  
[needs to pay out in order to stream ASCAP members’ compositions.](https://www.hypebot.com/apples-pandora-killer-halted-by-licensing-complications-with-sonyatv/)

  
In a  
report published by [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-05/pandora-media-sues-ascap-seeking-lower-songwriter-fees.html?ref=hypebot.com), Pandora is said to be actively seeking a blanket-licensing  
fee that would cover every song represented by all 435,000 members of ASCAP.  
Back in 2005, Pandora reached an “experimental” fee agreement with ASCAP that  
lasted until 2010, although the terms of the arrangement established since then  
were not disclosed in the filing.

“The  
license rates and other material terms of the 2005 license agreement were  
presented to Pandora by ASCAP as being effectively non-negotiable,” Pandora’s court  
papers read. The company also said that the before mentioned “experimental”  
license agreement was “ill-suited and not reasonable” to begin with.

"ASCAP  
continues to seek rates higher than the current rates and above the agreement  
that they reached earlier this year with all of the major radio groups, which  
covers both broadcast and Internet radio usage for the majority of our  
competitors," said a Pandora spokesperson to Billboard. "As a result,  
we are initiating the process that has been in place for decades to resolve  
royalty disputes with ASCAP."

David  
Israelite, president of the [National Music Publishers Association](http://nmpa.org/?ref=hypebot.com) (NMPA),  
doesn’t seem to agree with Pandora’s decision to sue ASCAP:

“It’s  
outrageous Pandora would try to reduce the already nominal amount they pay  
songwriters and music publishers, when Pandora’s business model is based  
entirely on the creative contributions of those songwriters,” Israelite said in  
a statement. “To file this suit at the same time that Pandora’s founders are  
pocketing millions for themselves adds insult to injury.”

In  
any event, the lawsuit doesn’t reflect to well on the side of artists’  
interests for the company, which reported $338 million in revenue last year  
alone, a market cap of approximately $1.6 billion, and a user base of 150 million  
registered users in the United States.

—

***Hisham Dahud*** *is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of [Business Development](https://www.hypebot.com/social-media-the-main-driver-for-edm-ticket-purchases-more-findings-infographic/) for [Fame House](http://famehouse.net/?ref=hypebot.com) and an [independent musician](https://soundcloud.com/hishamdahud?ref=hypebot.com). Follow him on Twitter: [@HishamDahud](http://twitter.com/hishamdahud?ref=hypebot.com)*