Pandora Paid Over $1,300 for 1 Million Plays, Not $16.89
David Lowery’s “My Song Got Played On Pandora 1 Million Times and All I Got Was $16.89” article has been picked up over and over and over, including by very respectable folks, often without comment.
This has left many readers with two impressions:
- Pandora only paid $16.89 for 1 million plays.
- Pandora pays much lower royalty rates than Sirius XM and especially terrestrial AM/FM radio.
Music royalties are complex, but both of these are patently untrue.
An interesting followup to the post that sparked my Devaluing Content essay. I don’t think it disproves my point, but it’s certainly fuel for the discussion we should be having about making a living as a content creator in the Internet age.