Pandora's future uncertain as it closes to UK

 

Gallery

By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 8 Jan 2008 at 11:12

The online music recommendation service, Pandora, will stop operating in the UK after failing to secure a viable music licensing deal with record companies.

The project was previously ordered to stop supplying the service outside the US in July of last year, but continued operating in the UK in the hope that a licensing deal could be struck.

However, this has proved to be impossible, and the service will now be closed to UK IP numbers from January 15th.

"Both the PPL (which represents the record labels) and the MCPS/PRS Alliance (which represents music publishers) have demanded per track performance minima rates which are far too high to allow ad supported radio to operate and so, hugely disappointing and depressing to us as it is, we have to block the last territory outside of the US," says Tim Westergren, Pandora founder, in an email to customers.

"We have been told to sign these totally unworkable license rates or switch off, non-negotiable... so that is what we are doing. Streaming illegally is just not in our DNA, and we have to take the threats of legal action seriously," says Westergren, before going on to say that he believes the move to be "nothing short of disastrous for artists."

Pandora will continue to fight for workable licensing rates in the UK, according to the email, but there is currently little optimism that a solution will be forthcoming.

The services future is far from certain even in the US, where it is "fighting for its survival, in the face of a crushing increase in web radio royalty rates."

Westergren admits that unless these problems can be resolved there is a very real chance that the service will have to cease entirely.

PC Pro will be reporting direct from CES 2008 in Las Vegas all this week, bringing you interviews, breaking news and all the new technology you could hope for. You can find the latest coverage at our CES homepage.