Comments on: Pandora Founder: “Last Stand” Decision Nearing

By: Andrew Hyde

Andrew Hyde — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I wonder if Tim has a ’sweet spot’ in mind that he is trying to negotiate to, or if it is just too much of a mess to really know.

By: Jimmy Thomas

Jimmy Thomas — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As a signed musician, I can understand the need for royalties for songplay, but this is just too much.

The truth of this is greed and low-hanging fruit. It’s a centralized system, so it’s easy to implement an automated process that can calculate what people owe to ASCAP, etc.

The problem is that there is bandwidth to be paid for (which the cable companies want to charge more for, too…). This isn’t a situation where you just blast the signal over the airwaves. Every person that listens uses a significant amount of bandwidth. The one variable they’re leaving out of their magical money formula is the listener count. This is also something you can’t determine in traditional broadcasting… but it’s very convenient that they leave listener count unattributed. Prices would have to be much lower, then.

What if they did this to club DJs?

By: fred wilson

fred wilson — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

yes, the royalties are too high and should be rev share based, not per play based. and why is it that terrestrial radio and satellite radio have much lower (or non existent) royalties. we need a level playing field for sure.

but pandora doesn’t run in stream audio ads.

our portfolio company targetspot is monetizing internet radio very well for those who want to run in stream audio ads. and pandora should use them. but they don’t. and they don’t use their competitors either.

the truth is people minimize the player when they listen to internet radio. so monetizing the stream is the best way to make money. ignoring that option is a mistake in my opinion.

By: centernetworks

centernetworks — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I guess to some extent listening to pandora minimized is like reading a blog in rss.

By: Keane

Keane — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, but at the same time, that’s part of the attraction of pandora, the lack of in-stream audio ads. However, I completely agree that Pandora needs to restructure its pricing and advertising model. It’s service is great, and with the rise of the Pandora app for the iPhone, it’s now everywhere you go. That kind of functionality is so high, I almost feel bad not having to pay for it. I really hope Pandora can figure out how to keep things going.