Songwriters of the pre-1972 songs do get a royalty payment, but Pandora and SiriusXM have faced several lawsuits over this standard. "In short, demanding payment now for what radio has never, in 100 years, had to pay for will merely create a windfall that the artists did not expect when they created the works," said David J Frear, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Sirius XM. "Sirius XM, by contrast, will be confronted with tens of millions of dollars in a new, unforeseen and significant payment obligation that was not part of the rights framework in place when it started its business – money that will no longer be available for improving our products and services, innovating, or hiring new employees."