Pink Floyd have accused internet radio station Pandora of trying to trick artists into supporting a cut to their royalties from online plays.
Pink Floyd band members - David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Roger Waters - have written an open letter published by the USA Today which accuses the company of trying to deceive musicians and artists to back a new piece of legislation in Congress.
According to the band, the passing of the special law will see an 85 percent reduction in online royalty payments, something which they say the vast majority of musicians would be firmly against.
In their letter, the trio said Pandora is contacting many artists and musicians to ‘sign a simple letter of support for internet radio' which asks them to be part of a 'conversation' on the future of the music business but does not mention the royalty reduction.
Pink Floyd wrote: ‘A musician could read this "letter of support" a dozen times and hold it up to a funhouse mirror for good measure without realising she was signing a call to cut her own royalties to pad Pandora's bottom line.
‘Nearly 90 percent of the artists who get a check for digital play receive less than $5,000 (£3,252) a year. They cannot afford the 85 percent pay cut Pandora asked Congress to impose on the music community.’
Previously, more than 130 bands and artists (including Pink Floyd) campaigned against Pandora's attempts to cut the amount of royalties paid for digital radio spins.
The band recently released a 40th anniversary version of their album Dark Side of the Moon.
Pink Floyd band members - David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Roger Waters - have written an open letter published by the USA Today which accuses the company of trying to deceive musicians and artists to back a new piece of legislation in Congress.
According to the band, the passing of the special law will see an 85 percent reduction in online royalty payments, something which they say the vast majority of musicians would be firmly against.
In their letter, the trio said Pandora is contacting many artists and musicians to ‘sign a simple letter of support for internet radio' which asks them to be part of a 'conversation' on the future of the music business but does not mention the royalty reduction.
Pink Floyd wrote: ‘A musician could read this "letter of support" a dozen times and hold it up to a funhouse mirror for good measure without realising she was signing a call to cut her own royalties to pad Pandora's bottom line.
‘Nearly 90 percent of the artists who get a check for digital play receive less than $5,000 (£3,252) a year. They cannot afford the 85 percent pay cut Pandora asked Congress to impose on the music community.’
Previously, more than 130 bands and artists (including Pink Floyd) campaigned against Pandora's attempts to cut the amount of royalties paid for digital radio spins.
The band recently released a 40th anniversary version of their album Dark Side of the Moon.
