Billy Joel, Rihanna and Missy Elliott are among 125 musicians who have signed an open letter opposing Pandora Media Inc.'s attempts to change the way artists are compensated, Reuters reports. The group says the "Internet Radio Fairness Act" would cut royalties that artists receive from plays online by 85 percent. Pandora has been lobbying legislators in Congress to pass the bill.
"Why is the company asking Congress once again to step in and gut the royalties that thousands of musicians rely upon? That's not fair and that's not how partners work together," reads the letter, released by musicFirst, a coalition of artists and business people; and SoundExchange, a non-profit that collects royalties on behalf of musicians. The letter will be published in this week's issue of Billboard.
Pandora's unhappiness also stems from their success – more customers and more plays means the company must pay more in overall licensing and rights fees to stream the music. Pandora and other music services, including Clear Channel Communications, are pushing for the Internet Radio Fairness Act, arguing that other content providers, such as cable and satellite, pay different rates for rights.
