Home / Arts and Entertainment / Pandora Settles Comedian Royalties Lawsuit
Pandora Settles Comedian Royalties Lawsuit
3 Feb
Summary
- Pandora and comedians reached a confidential settlement in a royalties dispute.
- The lawsuit aimed to align spoken-word royalties with music streaming standards.
- Pandora maintains its current licensing practices for spoken-word content.
A confidential settlement has been reached between Pandora and a group of comedians over streaming royalties for spoken-word content. The dispute, initiated in 2022, involved nine comedians and their heirs, including notable figures like George Lopez and the estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin. They had sought to establish a royalty system for comedy similar to that of music streaming, which compensates for both recordings and the underlying written material.
Pandora's parent company, SiriusXM, confirmed the settlement but clarified that it does not provide the comedians with past royalties or future licenses for spoken-word rights. A spokesperson for SiriusXM expressed satisfaction with the resolution, stating it upholds the legality of Pandora's long-standing licensing approach for comedy recordings and that they anticipate continuing their relationship with comedians using standard industry practices.
The legal proceedings had previously seen a special master advise in favor of Pandora, suggesting the comedians granted an "implied license" by allowing streaming without immediate protest. The presiding judge had encouraged a settlement to avoid further significant legal expenditures for all parties involved.
