Here’s Why Pink, Katy Perry + More Stars Plan to Boycott SiriusXM
Many members of the music industry have a stark message for SiriusXM: Get with the times, or get left in the dust.
According to Spin, the United States Senate — following affirmation from the Senate Judiciary Committee and House of Representatives — is expected to pass the Music Modernization Act Tuesday (September 18), which is "intended to serve songwriters, artists, and publishers, making royalty payments fairer and easier to secure."
But there's one company (you guessed it: Sirius) that's publicly opposing adoption of the act, taking specific issue with the MMA's provision that requires companies to pay royalties for songs recorded before 1972, which Sirius didn't previously have to do.
Needless to say, the stance isn't going over too well in the industry, and attorney Dina Lapolt told Variety that Sirius' “unwillingness to support songwriters and artists [a] complete travesty given that every other group in the music industry has endorsed the bill. This shows their disgusting corporate greed at the expense of America’s greatest treasures...our legacy artists."
Oh, and these artists have promised to boycott the service if it continues to resist: Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Katy Perry, Kim Gordon, Karen O, Sia, Carly Simon, Gloria Estefan, Mick Fleetwood, Don Henley, Max Martin, Joey Santiago (The Pixies), Pink, Alessia Cara, and Charlie Puth. Doesn't necessarily sound like a group you'd want to piss off.
Songwriter Ross Golan wrote an open letter to Sirius on behalf of the group of musicians making its position explicitly clear, noting "As you are aware, 415 Representatives and 76 Senators have already cosponsored the MMA along with industry consensus. It’s SiriusXM vs. all of us. We can either fight to the bitter end or celebrate this victory together….Momentum is building against SiriusXM and you still have an opportunity to come out on the right side of history" (you can read the full letter here).
Still, Sirius has called the letter a "stinging attack," and said it's only seeking a few amendments to the act as it is to sign on (you can read the company's answer to criticism here).