Pandora has settled with comedians in a closely-watched legal dispute over spoken-word content licensing, though the streamer says it still isn’t paying the equivalent of publishing royalties sought in the comics’ lawsuit.
Nine comedians and their heirs, including George Lopez, Lewis Black and the estates of deceased legends Robin Williams and George Carlin, have been fighting since 2022 to increase the royalties paid when their comedy sets are streamed on Pandora. Lawyers for the comics and Pandora agreed on a confidential settlement during a court-refereed mediation on Wednesday (Jan. 28), court records show.
The comedians’ lawsuit had aimed to align their royalties structure with that of music streaming, where artists are paid for both sound recordings (masters) and the underlying written music (publishing). Comics have historically been paid digital streaming royalties only for their recorded comedy routines, not the underlying jokes themselves.
The comedians did not ultimately achieve this goal, according to a spokesperson for Pandora’s parent company SiriusXM, who said in a statement to Billboard on Monday (Feb. 2) that the settlement does not grant the comics either past royalties or forward-looking licenses for spoken-word rights.
“We at SiriusXM and Pandora are pleased to have resolved this matter amicably, with an outcome that affirms the legality of our long-standing approach to licensing spoken-word comedy recordings,” said the spokesperson. “We look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial relationship with comedians, using the same licensing practices that have long been standard across streaming services, broadcasters and other platforms that help comedians and spoken-word artists share and promote their work.”
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Reached for comment on Monday, the comedians’ lawyer, Richard Busch, said only, “We settled amicably.”
The settlement follows a court report that, while not final, had prognosticated an outcome in favor of Pandora. Former federal magistrate judge Suzanne H. Segal, who was appointed as a so-called special master to weigh in on the case, advised this summer that the comedians gave Pandora an “implied license” to their written work by allowing the company to stream comedy shows for years without protest.
The lawsuit’s presiding judge, Mark C. Scarsi, was in the process of reviewing this report and had asked for more information before making his own binding judgment. However, the judge suggested this past September that a settlement might be more prudent.
“The court anticipates that further proceedings before the special master will require further significant expenditures by the parties and the special master (whose fees are borne by the parties) given the anticipated scope of the court’s instructions for further development,” wrote Judge Scarsi. “On that basis, following the policy of this district to encourage disposition of civil litigation by settlement when such is in the best interest of the parties, the court orders the parties to engage in a settlement conference.”
