4-27-15
It was back in June of 2013 that Pandora announced it was purchasing KXMZ-FM, in Rapid City, South Dakota from Jeff Warshaw's Connoisseur Media for $600,000. That sale has been stuck at the FCC because Pandora could not prove it was within the FCC's 25 percent foreign ownership limits. Now, with all the talk about loosening up those foreign ownership regulations, Bloomberg is reporting that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wants his colleagues to grant Pandora a special waiver to close on the station.
The reason Pandora wants to own a radio station is so it can say to companies such as ASCAP and BMI that it should be treated like radio when it comes to the fees it pays. Pandora has been fighting with music licensing companies over rates for years. At the time this was all going on , ASCAP EVP of Licensing Vincent Candilora told Radio Ink, "The RMLC license was designed for terrestrial radio stations and groups which earned the overwhelming share of their revenues from traditional radio, not an online streaming service that buys a radio station that ranks only 255th in the U.S. market as a ploy to undercut songwriters." And ASCAP Senior VP Richard Reimer told Bloomberg Pandora was simply trying to create a loophole.
(4/28/2015 12:38:36 PM)
You are right El Barto. Just so they can be just like radio and not pay a PENNY for the songs they air on radio. At Least Pandora actually pays artist.
(4/28/2015 9:10:43 AM)
Hey Pandora - if you're so much better than terrestrial radio, why do you want in? Oh, just to be slimeballs who rip off artists by trying to create legal loopholes? Hope it blows up in your face and artists pull all rights to stream their music for your slimeball tactics.
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