Pandora Radio: Music Royalty Victim
I love Pandora Radio. It is a music genome project that functions like a radio station. You put in an artist or song that you like, and it will build a radio station around that music style. It also analyzes the "genetic" structure of that music and suggests other music that would be a good fit. It's rare that music will come up that I definitely HATE and wonder, "WTF, Pandora!" For the most part, it's been my sanity, especially at this new job where I'm not allowed to download any kind of music player to my PC but need music around as background noise.
Pandora used to be free until now.
A couple of years ago, they started getting blowback about music royalty fees and had to institute a system that allows for 40 hours of listening per month (one week in the office!), and after you hit that limit, you pay an additional $.99 per month. Alternatively, you can buy in to an enhanced version for $36 a year.
Not terrible rates, all told, but just pretty awful that it had to come to this. I'm the type who will willingly put up with internet ads and even click through so that the site gets the revenue. But this, apparently, is all a by-product of the Performance Royalty Bill which is an attempt to make broadcasters pay royalties for songs to the artist, even though they are already paying those royalties to the record company -- who, of course, is not passing along an equitable share of those royalties to the performer.
Le sigh.
Pandora used to be free until now.
A couple of years ago, they started getting blowback about music royalty fees and had to institute a system that allows for 40 hours of listening per month (one week in the office!), and after you hit that limit, you pay an additional $.99 per month. Alternatively, you can buy in to an enhanced version for $36 a year.
Not terrible rates, all told, but just pretty awful that it had to come to this. I'm the type who will willingly put up with internet ads and even click through so that the site gets the revenue. But this, apparently, is all a by-product of the Performance Royalty Bill which is an attempt to make broadcasters pay royalties for songs to the artist, even though they are already paying those royalties to the record company -- who, of course, is not passing along an equitable share of those royalties to the performer.
Le sigh.