The petition to deny Pandora’s purchase of a...
The petition to deny Pandora’s purchase of a terrestrial radio station is a “blatant attempt to draw the FCC into a private dispute regarding music performance royalties,” said the company in an opposition filing to the American Society of Composers,…
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Authors and Publishers’s petition to deny (http://bit.ly/1a1A2Tu). ASCAP filed the petition to deny Pandora’s purchase of KXMZ(FM) Rapid City, S.D., last month, calling the purchase a “theatrical media stunt” and saying the company failed to fully disclose its foreign ownership (CD July 30 p6). Pandora said ASCAP’s claim that it didn’t disclose its ownership is “meritless,” and “based on a superficial analysis of the structure of investment companies holding Pandora stock.” The interests involved fall below even the 5 percent attribution threshold that applies to shareholders, said the company last week. ASCAP’s demonstration that it has the standing to file the petition is “defective,” Pandora said, since ASCAP failed to prove the company wouldn’t be able to serve the public interest of the community surrounding the station. Pandora said it agreed to buy KXMZ to qualify for the same publishing royalty rates as one of its largest competitors, Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio (CD June 17 p16). ASCAP had no immediate comment.