Pandora Latest Company to Join Lobbying Game, Forms PAC

Despite (sort of) winning
a court case in a New York District Court earlier this year
over royalty payments, Internet radio service Pandora sees the
regulatory Furies hastening ever closer.
The Hill reports that the music streaming giant is seeking
some political clout of its own to wield in the
copyright court of intrigue:

Online radio service Pandora has started a political action
committee to send money to political campaigns and candidates. The
company started its PAC late last month, it revealed in new Federal
Election Commission filings, days after a court ruling seemed to
spell trouble for the service.

The ruling in question comes from California, where a court

found that Sirius XM radio has to pay royalties to
musicians for songs recorded before 1972:

Currently, performers of songs recorded before 1972 are not
covered under a federal copyright law, and musicians do not receive
royalties when their songs are played. A series of state laws
covers songs before 1972.

Unsurprisingly, California is one of those states, making it a
magical land with tangerine trees and marmalade skies for litigious
hippie-era musicians. The Turtles, who
won the suit against Sirius, have now set their sights on Pandora,

reports The Wall Street Journal:

The Turtles’ founding members sued the internet-radio giant on
Thursday in Los Angeles federal court alleging that Pandora
violated California law by misappropriating and reproducing its
songs without permission, seeking damages of at least $25
million.

Bad music makes for bad behavior, it seems.

Pandora is also feeling legislative pressure. Reps. John Conyers
Jr. (D-Mich.) and George Holding (R-N.C.) are pushing the
RESPECT Act, which would do away with the current patchwork of
state copyright laws by extending federal protections to pre-1972
music. And that’s just one of
several bills that could drastically affect the landscape of
the music streaming industry.

It should come as no surprise that Pandora is looking to
political solutions for political problems: In America’s
regulatory environment, lobbying has become a very
lucrative
investment indeed. Sadly, Pandora’s move is par for the course in
corporatist America, where entrenched players spend scarce
resources tweaking the regulatory apparatus instead of
adapting to consumer demand.