Neil Portnow, firebrand? The usually mild-mannered Recording Academy chief took to his soapbox yesterday, firing off an email message to his constituency in an attempt to counter Pandora’s PR campaign as the service lobbies Congress in an effort to lower the royalty rates it pays. Here’s the text of that message.

Dear Recording Academy Member:

Would you sign a petition to get paid less money?

While the question seems absurd, you may be (or have already been) asked to do this by Pandora radio, which is seeking to lower its payments to those who create the music that drive its business. Pandora's "letter of support" is being circulated as they prepare to embark on another legislative effort to reduce royalties to featured artists, session musicians and producers.

Just two months ago, Pandora's CFO stated, "The rates that we pay are statutory rates that are fixed, they are set in stone through 2015. Based on those rates, we are confident we can build a really good company... It's all about monetization."

We agree. So why is Pandora telling Congress it needs to lower its payments (already a tenth of a penny per play) to artists?

In a letter sent to artists, Pandora says it wants to speak for "working musicians" in Washington. But they know you already have a voice in Washington. Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of Academy members made their voices heard loud and clear at Grammys on the Hill, telling Congress to protect fair wages to creators. With all due respect to Pandora, we do not need Wall St. media companies speaking for music creators.

Your Recording Academy will continue to fight any efforts to reduce your ability to earn a fair wage from your music. Before signing onto any letter of support by Pandora, I encourage you to learn more about the issue at www.grammy.com/fairpay

Kind regards,
Neil Portnow
President/CEO
The Recording Academy