Twitch faces music industry backlash over proper licensing

Twitch may be finding ways to offer legal music for livestreams, but it’s not enough for some in the music industry. Variety has learned that the RIAA, Recording Academy and over a dozen groups have written a letter to Twitch accusing it of failing t...

Peloton slapped with a $150 million lawsuit for playing unlicensed music

Music publishers are suing Peloton, the maker of the connected exercise bike, for failing to license songs it plays in its streaming spinning classes. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by the National Music Publishers Association in the U.S. District...

Pandora buys FM radio station to lower royalty rates for streaming music

Pandora for Windows Phone

Pandora has complained for years that royalties for internet-only radio stations are too steep. It may have found an end run around the problem, however: it just bought an FM radio station in South Dakota. The company's Chris Harrison argues that the deal will make ASCAP and music labels offer Pandora the same songwriting licenses that they do to rivals like iHeartRadio, which allegedly gets better terms through its traditional broadcasting roots. Opponents argue that Pandora is simply trying to dodge fair compensation through the buyout, although the streaming service claims to have been forced into more than one unfair rate hike with current licensing. Whatever the truth, Pandora is racing against the clock -- competition won't get any easier when built-in services like iTunes Radio are on the way.

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