Partner Donald Zakarin, Chairman of Pryor Cashman’s Litigation Group, was interviewed by The Deal in connection with its August 27, 2013 article “The Deal: A Royalties Pain on the Air.”

The article discusses Pandora Media’s recent purchase of a brick-and-mortar radio station in South Dakota, an investment the internet radio provider concedes is designed to lower royalties it pays songwriters. In reaction, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishing houses, filed objections with the FCC.

When asked whether Pandora,  by opening a single radio station, will qualify for such a rate reduction, Zakarin, who represents both EMI Music Publishing Ltd. and Sony/ATV Songs LLC, told The Deal “Pandora's [digital] service is like a whale, with a little tiny fish stuck to its bottom, and that's the radio station.”

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