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Jon Webster is CEO of the Music Manager's Forum, which represents artists and managers in the recording industry.

We recently spoke to Tim Westergren of Pandora, which was forced to close its UK service due to what he saw as excessive new royalty rates, demanded by the recording industry.

This, in addition to  the proposed royalty rises in the US, has threatened several online broadcasters - Jon gives us the view from the artists and managers' perspective.

Online music radio / recommendation service Pandora was recently forced to block UK users from tuning in as a result of a rise in royalty rates, backed by the record industry.

The move is a very short-sighted decision from the music execs, represented by the MCPS/PRS, which collects royalties on behalf of composers and publishers.

It will threaten other online broadcasters, which will affect the way music is consumed and distributed online. And it should ultimately affect the record labels too...

Music recommendation service Pandora says it is set to block UK users from 15th January as it is unable to afford new royalty rates.

The firm says that royalty collection agencies PPL and the MCPS/PRS alliance have demanded excessive fees.