Takeways from Adam Parness, Pandora’s Head of Publisher Relations
Pictured (L-R): Ted Goldthorpe (Sony/ATV), John Barker (ClearBox Rights), Ron Nenni (Pandora), Adam Parness (Pandora), Jenn Campbell (Pandora), Rachel Whitney (Pandora), Tara Aaron (Aaron | Sanders PLLC), Kent Draughon (Capitol CMG)
On September 23, 2016, The Copyright Society of the South hosted Adam Parness, Head of Publisher Licensing & Relations at Pandora. In this role, Adam is responsible for leading Pandora’s global relationships with songwriters and music publishers, including the development of broader product rights and internationalization in order to increase revenue, retention and customer engagement.
Adam provided an overview of Pandora’s business, with special attention attention paid to the forthcoming launch of its on-demand streaming service. He fielded questions ranging from the company’s big picture strategy, platform features, and the goals of direct publisher licenses with the company.
Major takeaways from the meeting:
Pandora’s On-Demand Service Will Launch by the End of the Year
Pandora is entering the interactive streaming space. Its service, which will compete with Spotify and Apple Music, will launch in the U.S. by the end of the year. It has offered a direct licensing opportunity for publishers.
In addition, Pandora is adding features to its subscription radio service, such as unlimited track-skipping ability for customers.
Pandora’s New Three Tier Platform
- Free Ad-Supported Radio
- Subscription Radio ($4.99/month)
- Subscription On-Demand ($9.99/month)
Adam affirmed that there will be no free on-demand service. Instead, they’ll be using their ad-supported radio and subscription radio services to funnel users into the more expensive on-demand tier. This is in direct contrast to Spotify, which provides ad-supported on-demand service for free to users. In this sense, Pandora is more aligned with Apple Music, for which there is no free tier, outside of a 3-month free trial.
Two Ways for Publishers to Enter into a Direct License with Pandora
To facilitate the launch of Pandora’s on-demand service, the company is offering a direct license to publishers in lieu of bombarding publishers and songwriters with NOIs. Adam assured the group that “everyone is getting the same deal.”
- Music Reports, Inc. opt-in
- Contact Pandora reps directly
To opt-in via Music Reports, go to https://www.musicreports.com/offers/pandora/.
If you wish to contact a Pandora rep directly, we’ll be providing Adam’s email at the Copyright Society of the South Facebook group.
Regardless of the option a publisher chooses, MRI will be administering the agreement and royalty payments. The second choice is presented as an opportunity to have a direct relationship with the digital music service.
Adam Parness has over 15 years of experience as a digital media executive. Prior to joining Pandora, Adam was Principal Content Acquisition Manager at Amazon where he led the company’s global music publishing initiatives and was instrumental in the launch of Prime Music. Prior, Adam served as of Vice President of Music Licensing at Rhapsody where he played a pivotal role in the acquisition of Napster and global expansion of the company.
Adam graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Music and remains an active musician.
Adam was accompanied by Jennifer Campbell, Director of Business Affairs and Content Licensing; Rachel Whitney, Head of Country Programming; and Ron Nenni, Director of Music Programming.
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