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# Pandora ‘s Westergren Responds To Artist Airplay Submission Controversy
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/pandora-westergren-responds-to-artist-arplay-submission-controversy/
- Published: 2009-07-01T17:33:00.000Z
- Updated: 2009-07-01T17:33:00.000Z
- Description: Yesterday's story that Pandora was requiring that all music considered for airplay must also be available for sale as a physical CD on Amazon drew some strong comments from Hypebot. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/07/pandora-westergren-responds-to-artist-arplay-submission-cont
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: Streaming, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:03

Yesterday's [story](https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/06/pandora-forces-2995-payments-from-indie-bands-.html) that Pandora was requiring that all music considered for airplay must also be available for sale as a physical CD on Amazon drew some [strong comments](https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/06/pandora-forces-2995-payments-from-indie-bands-.html) from Hypebot readers. An [online poll](https://www.hypebot.com/vote-what-do-you-think-of-the-new-pandora-requirements-for-indie-bands/) showed that for 40%, the practice tainted their view of Pandora and another 14% claimed they would never use the service again.

I asked Pandora for a response and founder Tim Westergren replied:

> [![Tim_westergren_newer-150w](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201157197defe970b-120wi "Tim_westergren_newer-150w")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201157197defe970b-pi?ref=hypebot.com) We appreciate the scrutiny everyone's bringing to this – it’s a very important issue, and one for which we feel a great sense of responsibility.   
>  
> Here are some general thoughts from Pandora on this.   
>  
> There are a number of reasons for us to add this requirement. It’s something we’ve been contemplating for a long time. Just to be clear, it's not about making money from Amazon. We don't get any portion of the $29.95, and even though we're thrilled at the amount of music we sell through them, the commissions we get are a small part of the overall business (it's all about advertising). So these requirements have nothing at all to do with revenue.  
>  
> There are really three principal reasons – user experience, improving the meta data, and managing submissions. 

We believe it's very important from a user-experience standpoint to have functioning 'buy' links. We get loads of complaints about broken links when listeners try to buy an album that is not available on Amazon – when that happens it feels like Pandora is malfunctioning, and it’s a real drag for a listeners – disappointing, and a waste of time. Requiring enrollment will of course mitigate this issue. It’s clearly the right choice from the product/user experience perspective. Clean meta-data is a constant struggle for us (and all online services for that matter). Our entire system is based on a concept of UPC and track information (perhaps someday that will change, but it’s one of our most basic building blocks dating back almost 10 years)- it's how we identify the music internally and talk to all sorts of external partners, vendors, distributors, etc. We also need album art; and we get all of this from Amazon. Requiring registration at Amazon is a very effective solution for us.Finally, it serves as a way to manage our flow of submissions. Pandora remains intensely focused on providing a level playing field. Our aim is to find the best music we can – indie, major or otherwise – and to add as much of that as we can. Given our sole focus on quality, we're looking for folks who have a demonstrated seriousness about their craft. Just as investing the time and money to create a professional sounding CD is a strong predictor of quality, having invested or being willing to invest in an online distribution mechanism is another signal. We are huge believers in not discriminating against aspiring/emerging artists – 70% of the 75,000 artists in our collection are not on a major label. All we’re asking of artists is to make great music, and have it available for easy purchase for Pandora’s audience.I hope this makes sense. One additional clarification. mreasy: Pandora pays tens of millions of dollars per year in royalties to artists and terrestrial radio pays nothing. Although it’s not pertinent to this particular conversation, Pandora pays a substantial percentage of its gross revenue to artists. Thanks Tim (Founder, Pandora) 

**More:** [ ](https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/06/pandora-forces-2995-payments-from-indie-bands-.html)

- [Pandora Forces $29.95 Payments From Indie Bands](https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/06/pandora-forces-2995-payments-from-indie-bands-.html)
- [VOTE: What Do You Think Of The New Pandora Requirements For Indie Bands?](https://www.hypebot.com/vote-what-do-you-think-of-the-new-pandora-requirements-for-indie-bands/)