I’m flattered that you took the time to read my ‘little’ blog. I’m going to post a devil’s advocate type post soon to examine the rights holder’s side of things. After reading your post, and thinking about how I would feel if someone rebroadcast my work without compensation (esp. if it was for work that I do to put bread on the table)…

I’m confused about several things in your postings, but I’ll do my other post first, before I look at your post’s arguments again!

Thanks,
Kenneth

I of course share all of your concerns about losing the momentum, and the risk of damaging the goodwill of our int’l listeners (though the email we’ve received has been almost uniformly supportive and understanding). The first point I need to make is that this is NOT a function of US laws. The US is actually the most advanced in providing a legal framework for webcasters (DMCA). We’re being hampered by the licensing situation in other countries. No other country has the licensing infrastructure in place to collect and distribute the performance fees required by law. We’ve been told to turn Pandora off. If we don’t, we’re wilfully violating copyright laws. Are you suggesting that we ignore the directives of the labels that own the music in these countries? It’s terribly frustrating as we know full well the benefits that Pandora gives to every part of the ecosystem, but I think we’d be foolish to think that we can skirt these laws with impunity. It’s also not in our DNA to ignore such laws that were created to protect rightsholders.

Perhaps we’re being too conservative. It’s painful to watch other companies prosper by violating these laws, but we don’t think that means we should do the same. We’ve already seen a major jump in activity among the rights associations around the world trying to fix the situation (our fingers are crossed).

Personally, I think this will only make us stronger when we do launch legally around the globe. The way I see it, we’re taking the tougher road, but the road you have to take if you want to build a long term, legal business that can really shape the industry, and change the lot of musicians. We could try to quickly build a huge international audience then seek protection under the wings of a larger media company, but that’s just not our ambition. I come to Pandora from many years as a working musician and I want to really make a difference – perhaps catalyze the viability of a global musicians’ working class.

Hope this makes sense – and thanks again for sharing your passionately held viewpoint.

Cheers. Tim (Founder, Pandora)