The MLC Takes Legal Action Against Pandora For Alleged Unpaid Royalties

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The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has taken legal action against music streaming platform Pandora in the United States District Court located in Nashville. According to The MLC, it seeks to recover unpaid royalties and late fees due under the compulsory mechanical blanket license obtained by Pandora to reproduce and distribute musical works in America via its consumer music streaming platform.

The MLC was appointed by the Register of Copyrights to administer the blanket license and is the only entity authorized to collect and distribute the license royalties and enforce the license obligations on behalf of rightsholders. The action asserts that Pandora has underreported and underpaid mechanical royalties due in connection with the operation of its ad-supported music streaming offering marketed as “Pandora Free,” and further says that Pandora Free is an interactive service under the law, meaning that mechanical royalties are due for all streaming activity on the service. According to the organization, Pandora has only reported a portion of the activity on Pandora Free and refused to report and pay mechanical royalties for the rest of the activity.

The company now seeks corrected usage reporting and associated unpaid royalties and late fees for periods dating back to Jan. 1, 2021, along with an order requiring compliance going forward.

“The MLC has worked closely and tirelessly with blanket licensees to ensure their compliance with the compulsory license terms. Our team repeatedly sought to resolve this issue directly with Pandora, but Pandora has refused to correct their reporting or royalty payments,” says Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC. “The MLC is the only entity that has the statutory authority under the Music Modernization Act (MMA) to take legal steps to enforce the obligations of streaming services. We have brought this action to ensure that our members receive all the mechanical royalties they are due in connection with the use of their songs by Pandora on the Pandora Free service.”

Liza Anderson
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