[aresant]

"A good flatterer doesn't lie, but tells his victim selective truths (what a nice color your eyes are). Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true, but whose truth favors their clients."

I have no idea if David Lowery's original post about making only $16.89 for 1 million plays was distributed by a PR firm, but it sure feels like it.

PG's thoughts on PR are spot on, and I love referencing his article to both discern truth from half-truth in the news, and, of course, to push my own PR efforts:

http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

[yajoe]

I imagine the minority here is aware that Pandora now owns a radio station, and their goal is to use the radio station to get more favorable terms for licensing. (wsj story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732490400457853... ) I interpret these stories and their timings as a prelude to undermine Pandora's bargaining position. It's clearly PR to extract 'higher' payments, even though Pandora already pays among the highest per-listener rates in the US across all mediums. The blog author and parent are spot-on.

[svantana]

It's also mentioned in the OP.

[guelo]

Yea, the Pink Floyd article suspiciously came out at the same time yesterday in USA Today. And with legislation coming up in congress you know the lobbying pressure is ramping up.

[ErikAugust]

Saw a banner ad for the Pink Floyd catalog being on Spotify tonight. Forgot to screenshot it - but maybe that relates to trashing Pandora?

[jusben1369]

I always think of the Excorcist quote about how the Devil doesn't lie but rather mixes lies with the truth. That's what makes it truly perplexing.

[Sealy]

You raise a very good point aresant. Its a point which everybody should understand.

It is not interesting to post a story which says "Pandora Paid Over $1,300 for 1 Million Plays" but it is very interesting to post a story which says "My Song Got Played On Pandora 1 Million Times and All I Got Was $16.89"

I watched Mike Arrington (founder of TechCrunch) talk about PR on youtube at a startup seminar and he raised this exact point. Regardless of your agenda, a controversial story is far more newsworthy and will get you more coverage then a regular story.

[walshemj]

It should be My Song Got Played On Pandora 1 Million Times and All I Got Was $1300.

Compare that to what they would have got had it been on the rotation on Radio 1.

Note as the article says in the rest of the world unlike the usa terrestrial radio does pay for the songs it plays.

[FireBeyond]

I love that he only quoted his songwriter royalties (shared with the band), not his performance, and artist royalties.

[ErikAugust]

"And they were worth it. PR is the news equivalent of search engine optimization; instead of buying ads, which readers ignore, you get yourself inserted directly into the stories."

Great insight - considering now a days PR is also becoming SEO.

By that I mean that a good PR firm provides a service of getting high-end backlinks from highly authoritative sites - media, etc.

[smackfu]

A PR firm would have been much more selective with the truths.