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Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.

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Home » Recent News » Judge Explains Why Pandora Should Pay 2.5% of Revenue to BMI


Judge Explains Why Pandora Should Pay 2.5% of Revenue to BMI

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An article appearing in The Hollywood Reporter explains why US District Judge Louis Stanton decided that Pandora should pay 2.5% of its revenue to BMI. The decision came more than two years after publishers attempted to partially withdraw digital rights from BMI in order to get a raise from streaming outlets like Pandora. BMI argued the court for a 2.5% rate based on interim deals that were struck between the publishers and Pandora. In making the decision, Stanton considered Pandora’s $600 million 2014 revenue, and its stance that it hasn’t been profitable due to lack of success on the advertising. He also looked at what music services are paying—Apple 4.6% of revenue, Spotify (2.5%-6.25%) of label costs, and Rhapsody, just under 2.5%—though he admits “Pandora evades neat categorization.” BMI I was also given a “win” in that the license term will be four years, instead of five, to allow re-evaluation of the licensing relationship given the “rapidly changing nature of the online music industry.”







NEWS