PANDORA SPREADS THE PREMIUM LOVE THROUGH BRANDS:  Up to now streaming audio listening has been bifurcated into two experiences – either get it for free and hear ads, or buy a subscription for an ad-free experience.  But what if brands could be inserted somewhere in the middle of the landscape by offering trial subscriptions at no cost to listeners?  That’s the gist of two new partnerships being rolled out this week by Pandora.  In the first example listeners can get a free 90 day Pandora Premium gift code when they sign up for Dunkin’ Donuts’ new DD Perks loyalty program.  And not to be outdone, starting today T-Mobile will be featuring the same 90 day gift codes to Pandora Premium as part of their T-Mobile Tuesday initiative.  In both cases these brands are harnessing the power of Pandora to surprise and delight their customers with the gift of music.  Sounds like a win-win scenario to me!

APPLE GETS INTO LABEL DIRECT LICENSING:  Now that Spotify has completed licensing deals with the three major Labels it’s Apple turn to get its royalties house in order.  Bloomberg is reporting that Apple and Warner have signed a licensing contract to cover all WMG played on Apple Music.  While the terms of the deal aren’t public, it’s rumored to pay artists less per song than Spotify’s deal, but then add a rev share component for music purchased through iTunes.  This is most likely a positive deal for both sides, which should be duplicated with the other Majors – it’s rumored that the Apple/Sony negotiations have already begun.  Remember this example of a legitimate royalty framework as you read the next article . . . .

RADIO’S “THANK YOU” CAT FIGHT:  Last week Neil Portnow, the CEO of the music industry’s Recording Academy, heaved a grenade at Radio in the form of an op-ed article.  In the article Portnow remarked that not a single artist thanked Radio on stage during their acceptance speeches at this year’s Grammy awards.  He went on to deride Radio’s slipping connection with younger listeners by saying “20-somethings barely knew where the FM button was.”  So why is he blasting the broadcasters?  The real motive behind Mr. Portnow’s comments are to draw attention to the fact that AM/FM Radio (still) doesn’t pay royalties to performers and songwriters.  He correctly noted that every other form of music distribution pays their fair share, so Radio’s free ride should end.  In response  NAB Executive VP Dennis Wharton claims the spirit of Portnow’s observations are untrue since several artists thanked Radio at last week’s NAB Radio Show.  This is a pretty lame counter argument, since the Radio Show is for broadcasters only – big difference when you thank somebody privately compared to making a public announcement at something like the Grammys.  The point of this back and forth is there’s a growing rift between Radio and those who make music.  This is happening because the artists no longer see Radio as an essential promotional vehicle, and are tired of giving them free access to their songs.  Add this one to the growing list of problems for Radio.

Have a great Tuesday guys!