Pandora said it will introduce a 40-hours-per-month limit on free mobile listening, as the Internet radio company looks to manage rising royalty costs.
In a blog post on the company’s website, Pandora said the new limit will affect less than 4% of its total monthly active users. The company said the average listener spends about 20 hours listening to Pandora across all devices in any given month.
In the post, company co-founder Tim Westergren said “limiting listening is a very unusual thing to do, and very contrary to our mission.†Pandora noted its per-track royalty rates have jumped more than 25% over the last three years, including a 9% increase in 2013 alone, and are scheduled to rise an additional 16% over the next two years. After a close look at overall listening, Mr. Westergren said, the mobile listening limit allows the company to “manage these escalating costs with minimal listener disruption.â€
Pandora to Introduce 40-Hour Monthly Limit on Free Mobile Listening - Digits - WSJ
In a blog post on the company’s website, Pandora said the new limit will affect less than 4% of its total monthly active users. The company said the average listener spends about 20 hours listening to Pandora across all devices in any given month.
In the post, company co-founder Tim Westergren said “limiting listening is a very unusual thing to do, and very contrary to our mission.†Pandora noted its per-track royalty rates have jumped more than 25% over the last three years, including a 9% increase in 2013 alone, and are scheduled to rise an additional 16% over the next two years. After a close look at overall listening, Mr. Westergren said, the mobile listening limit allows the company to “manage these escalating costs with minimal listener disruption.â€
Pandora to Introduce 40-Hour Monthly Limit on Free Mobile Listening - Digits - WSJ
