Thursday, June 27, 2013

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN PRINCIPLES BOTH SPEAK OUT AGAINST PANDORA IN BLOGS POSTS THAT HAVE SEEN CLOSE TO 1 MILLION VIEWS

DAVID LOWERY: "MY SONG GOT PLAYED ON PANDORA 1 MILLION TIMES AND ALL I GOT [AS SONGWRITER] WAS $16.89"

FORMER PANDORA EMPLOYEE JONATHAN SEGEL, ALSO OF CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN: "I WORKED THERE FOR THREE YEARS [AND] HERE'S THE TRUTH: THEY ARE TRYING TO LOWER THE RATES"

This week, David Lowery – leader of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven and University of Georgia economics and music business professor – has posted two blog posts about Pandora that have gone viral, seeing almost 1 million views on the Trichorist blog. The first details his payment as cowriter of Cracker's "Low" for over a million plays as $16.89 and Pandora's current efforts to reduce that rate. He posts his royalty statement and shows that for far fewer plays, SIRIUS XM paid him $181 for "Low" while terrestrial (AM/FM) radio paid him $1,522.

Meanwhile, Camper Van Beethoven band-mate and former Pandora employee Jonathan Segel posted to his own blog. He notes, " I worked there for 3 years. I saw the intent change massively when it went public… Here’s the truth: they are trying to lower the rates."

In the process, they advance the greater debate about songwriter rights and earnings. David and Jonathan are not alone as witnessed by public statements by other songwriters including Ellen Shipley's statement of accounting in Digital Music News, Blake Morgan's email exchange with Tim Westergren in the Huffington Post and Pink Floyd's OpEd in USA Today. 

Ellen Shipley - Digitial Music News 

Blake Morgan - Huffington Post 

Pink Floyd - USA Today
Another Lowery blog entry about Pandora hiring a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist has also been attracting attention.

CNBC asked Lowery to appear (his segment begins at 2:17 at this link) to discuss his royalties from Pandora.

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