MUMBAI: Pandora and SONGS Music Publishing settled a multi-year licensing agreement for a catalogue of musical works.Pandora is the sixth biggest publishing company in the US. With this deal, it continues the series of direct deals between Internet radio service and rights holders of music in the US.

Pandora has done direct deals earlier with major publishing companies such as Sony/ATV and Merlin. It is likely that SONGS will be paid the same rate as Sony/ATV, since SONGS has the largest market share of independent publishers in the US. The details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The deal of direct publishing will generate business opportunities for Pandora, while it moderates and equalises compensation for SONGS and songwriters in the US. These include The Weeknd, Lorde, Diplo, and DJ Mustard. Pandora will benefit from the deal as it will provide a good rate of certainty and ability to provide more flexibility to product offering over the time. The public performance royalties Pandora also pays to rights holders of master recordings are not affected by this agreement as per a press release.

Commenting on the deal, Pandora chief executive officer Brian McAndrews said, "Pandora has a long-standing commitment to independent songwriters. This agreement with SONGS underscores that commitment and demonstrates our shared belief that all publishers and songwriters should receive equal treatment. Pandora is a leader in the space, and we continue to improve value to music publishers and songwriters – a positive step for the entire industry.”

SONGS founder and CEO Matt Pincus said, "Now is the time to move past the over-regulation of songwriter rights and towards a market-based approach to streaming music. This agreement is a big step forward in a long conversation about fair and equitable compensation for all songwriters and publishers. I value Pandora's commitment to treating all songwriters and publishers equally and look forward to a new chapter with them."

Known as a songwriter’s publisher, SONGS Music Publishing creates opportunities for its writers by making deals with content buyers. With its headquarters in New York City and Los Angeles, SONGS also has offices in London and Nashville.