Focus On Free: Whether Pandora Just Gave Up On Pandora One

Lately I have been keeping an eye on Pandora's (P) stock and wondering if it would be worth investing in. As of today the product is much more desirable than the stock is, even after last week's impressive rise. The escalating royalty payment issue aside, I have become concerned with the recent decision of Pandora to go unlimited on monthly listening hours. I use the free version on my iPhone and have found it to be the best way to get customizable music stations. I have not however, used the web version of Pandora until recently, and I have never once reached the monthly listening limit.

Pandora One, the $36 per year premium upgrade option just became a bit less necessary and a lot less valuable to current and potential subscribers. The latest iteration to the Pandora website, which primarily included an improved platform for advertisement delivery, has also included some enhanced features like song lyrics as well as the surprising elimination of the 40 hour monthly listening limit for ALL users, a benefit once afforded to the paying Pandora One subscribers only. Back in July of 2009 Pandora announced that the new royalty rates would mean the implementation of a 40 hour listening limit, and directed affected users towards the premium upgraded version of Pandora. The following official statement was posted on the Pandora blog in 2009.

"The revised royalties are quite high - higher in fact than any other form of radio...

Read more on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/297422-focus-on-free-whether-pandora-just-gave-up-on-pandora-one