Pandora Pulling the Plug?
19 August 2008
Fans of the most excellent (and free) Internet radio app Pandora may soon have to get their free music fix elsewhere. According to this story in the Washington Post, government regulations have doubled the royalties that Internet radio stations must pay performers; by contrast, traditional radio stations pay no such fees. Pandora expects to pay $17 million of its projected $25 million revenues toward the royalties this year.
“We’re approaching a pull-the-plug kind of decision,” said Tim Westergren, who founded Pandora. “This is like a last stand for webcasting.”
It will be sad and quieter day if Pandora shutters.
FYI: FastCompany did a good piece on the company’s unique technology in December 2005.
NOOOOOOOooooooooo. I love Pandora. I don’t know how I ever got anything done without it in the background. I would (almost) even pay for it at this point, except that Dave would really frown on that….