Pandora is lobbying Congress to establish fair royalty rates

Pandora has reportedly spent more than $50,000 this year lobbying Congress to establish a more equal system for how much different forms of radio pay in royalties.

The online radio company has been focusing on Congress in preparation for upcoming meetings by the Copyright Royalty Board that will determine how much will be paid in royalties from 2016 to 2020. As a result, Tim Westergren, Pandora's co-founder, is in Washington this week and will be testifying at a House subcommittee hearing hoping to sway Congress to establish a system that will charge each form of radio a similar rate in royalties. The way the system works now, newer forms of radio, such as online radio, pay more than older forms, like broadcast radio, which pays nothing. "Now I am fully supportive of fair compensation for artists," Westergren said in his written testimony prepared for the hearing. "But this lack of a level playing field is fundamentally unfair and indefensible."