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AP: Judge Keeps Pandora ASCAP Rate At 1.85%
March 17, 2014 at 3:00 AM (PT)
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports, "a federal judge in NEW YORK has left the rate that Internet radio giant PANDORA must pay songwriters unchanged at 1.85% of revenue for the next two years."
The ruling was leaked by ASCAP -- the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHERS. The AP notes, "ASCAP said Judge DENISE COTE of the U.S. District Court in NEW YORK made the ruling FRIDAY. Court filings show her order and opinion was filed under seal."
ASCAP CEO JOHN LOFRUMENTO told the AP, "that the market rate for Internet radio is substantially higher than 1.85% and said the ruling demonstrates the need for regulatory reform. ASCAP cited several separate deals as benchmarks, including one between music publishers and APPLE INC. for its iTUNES RADIO service, as examples."
ASCAP had sought a retroactive rate hike to 2.5% for 2013 and rise to 3% in 2014 and 2015.

