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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
Pandora announces direct deal with classical label
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 12 February 2015
While busy bickering with the American music publishers via their collecting society BMI in a New York courtroom yesterday, streaming service Pandora announced another direct deal on the sound recordings side of the equation.
As previously reported, although the record labels are obliged under law to licence Pandora-type services in the US via the SoundExchange collective licensing system, the streaming companies can choose to do direct deals with the labels if they so wish. Though the assumption is that a Pandora wouldn’t be interested in such a deal unless a label offered more favourable terms than available through SoundExchange, and why would a label offer such a thing?
But indie label repping Merlin announced a headline-grabbing direct deal with Pandora last year, part of which assures participating independent labels marketing benefits that might increase overall plays, and therefore overall royalties.
The latest record company to do a direct deal with Pandora is classical music label Naxos, which has long-standing relationships with the likes of Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Gerard Schwarz, Nicolas Horvath, Tianwa Yang, Boris Giltburg, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony.
Confirming the deal, Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews told reporters: “This deal represents another important step in Pandora’s efforts to become an indispensable partner to music makers. We have a passionate base of classical music listeners, and our agreement with Naxos ensures we can continue expanding the audience for their unparalleled catalogue”.
Meanwhile Naxos CEO Jeff Van Driel added: “Because of the way in which listeners enjoy music on Pandora, this partnership will allow us to introduce the unfamiliar to the magnificent world of classical music through the vast Naxos catalogue of recordings. It will also give listeners who already know and love classical music the opportunity to discover new works, composers and performers. We look forward to a prosperous relationship with Pandora which will be prolonged by our mutual desire to serve our listeners, new and old”.
