Hi all,

I am happy to report a significant, positive development in our ongoing fight for fair payment from Digital Service Providers (DSPs) for the performance of our members’ written material. You’ll recall that Pandora has made absurd allegations that Spoken Giants conspired to create a cartel to monopolize the streaming comedy market. As we anticipated would happen, a federal judge has thrown that meritless claim out of court.

On Wednesday afternoon, US District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles dismissed Pandora’s antitrust claims against Spoken Giants, Word Collections, and individual comedians. Judge Scarsi rejected all of Pandora’s arguments, dismissed all of Pandora’s claims, and did so with prejudice, meaning that Pandora will not be permitted to amend and refile those claims. The entertainment press has been quick to label this a “crucial win” for comedians, and I’ve already issued a public statement affirming that Spoken Giants will continue to advocate aggressively on behalf of our comedian-members to ensure that their spoken-word copyrights are protected and paid for by DSPs.

While this is a critical victory, we know the battle is not over. The DSPs started this fight, but you can rest assured that we are determined to finish it only after we’ve held the DSPs accountable, and they do the right thing. We believe strongly that pushing back on them is the only way to bring about meaningful change in how you are compensated for your work. Thank you for your continued faith in our efforts.

Finally, I invite you to reach out to Spoken Giants if you have any questions about this legal win or what comes next. As your ally in the fight for fair royalty payments, we are always available to help walk you through what is happening and deliver some peace of mind about our ongoing efforts on your behalf.

Thank you.