Pandora listeners may enjoy the fact that they have the ability to create their own radio station of their favorite music performed by their favor artists. They also may enjoy the fact that they can listen to music for free, even if they didn’t pay the subscription for unlimited services. However; did you know that the Pandora has to pay a royalty fee for each track on its playlist?
Well, with the rising cost of royalties paid to music copyright holders, Pandora has made the decision to place a limit on free listening for mobile devices. This limit has been set to 40 hours a month. People who listen to the online radio service on their laptops or desktops will not be affected.
According to a Pandora blog posted by founder Tim Westergren, “...it will affect less than 4% of our total monthly active listeners.” He goes on to say, “For perspective, the average listener spends approximately 20 hours listening to Pandora across all devices in any given month.”
Increased royalty rates are the basis for the limitations. Westergren states, “Pandora's per-track royalty rates have increased more than 25% over the last 3 years, including 9% in 2013 alone and are scheduled to increase an additional 16% over the next two years.”
Pandora has a subscription option for $36.00 per year with no-ads and continues to be unlimited. “For listeners who do hit the limit, we have a variety of options available to keep the music you love flowing. Listen for free for as many hours as desired on desktop and laptop computers; pay $0.99 for unlimited listening for the remainder of that month, or subscribe to Pandora One for unlimited listening and no advertising,” Westergren wrote.
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