PCWorld - Call it another brick in the wall. The surviving members of the band Pink Floyd have slammed Pandora for its support of an Internet radio bill that the rockers say would lead to an huge pay cut for musicians.
“It’s a matter of principle for us,” the musicians wrote in an editorial published over the weekend in the USA Today newspaper. “We hope that many online and mobile music services can give fans and artists the music they want, when they want it, at price points that work. But those same services should fairly pay the artists and creators who make the music at the core of their businesses.”
The editorial was signed by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason—the surviving members of the band. Vocalist Syd Barrett died in 2006 and keyboardist Richard Wright died in 2008.
Background
The bill, called the Internet Radio Fairness Act, has been promoted as a way to fix inconsistencies in the royalty rates paid by Internet radio providers. The legislation was put on hold following its introduction before Congress last year but is expected to be revived in this year’s session.With each new form of radio, including cable and satellite, legislation has been passed to address royalty rates for the new medium, but proponents of the bill say the law hasn’t yet caught up with Internet radio, putting it at a disadvantage. More
