Wireless

摘要

Pandora will place users on a 40-hour-per-month limit for free mobile listening, it said. The companynmade the “very unusual” decision because of the rising royalty rates it has to pay; the rate has increasedn25 percent over the past three years and is set to rise up to 16 percent over the next two years, PandoranFounder Tim Westergren said Wednesday in a blog post. “After a close look at our overall listening,na 40-hour-per-month mobile listening limit allows us to manage these escalating costs with minimal listenerndisruption,” he said. Pandora “will be sure” to alert listeners who near the 40-hour limit, Westergrennsaid. The limit will affect less than 4 percent of Pandora’s more than 65 million customers — the averagencustomer uses the service only for 20 hours per month over all devices, Westergren said. Customers whonhit the 40-hour limit can pay $0.99 for unlimited listening over the rest of the month, or can subscribe tonthe $36-a-year Pandora One service, which allows unlimited listening and features no advertising. Listenersnwill also continue to have unlimited access to Pandora on desktop and laptop computers, he saidn(http://bit.ly/Z0eu0l). Pandora’s decision is not surprising given that the company has been “consistentlynoperating with yearly losses” under the compulsory license regime, Public Knowledge Staff AttorneynJodie Griffin told us. It’s not clear how the decision will impact Pandora and the webcasting business inngeneral, but “if this becomes a trend for webcasters and leads to less online radio listening overall, it’snhard to see how that’s a victory for musicians or audiences,” she said.