Prompt's TechBlog

This week, Tim Westergren, founder of the hugely influential internet streaming radio service Pandora, sent me and other UK devotees a very sad email.

Despite huge support over the past few years from listeners and artists in this country, the service will finally be blocked to this last territory outside the USA from January 15th.

Tim explained that two key bodies, the PPL (which represents record labels) and the MCPS/PRS Alliance (which represents music publishers) had demanded per track performance minima rates which were too high to be covered by advertising supported internet radio and so the UK had to be barred in much the same way as the rest of the world had been back in the summer of 2007.

Professionally and personally I have to admit to being more than a little gutted - I listen to Pandora most working days in return for a few ads here and there and have been constantly impressed by the artificial intelligence of the track selection for the various personal radio stations I've set up along the way. Tim promises to let the UK know if he can open Pandora up to us again one day soon.

Here's hoping, but until then, I guess there's always the miniscule Apple iTunes price cuts to get excited about.

Labels: apple, broadcast, digital music, itunes, mcps, pandora, ppl, prs alliance, radio, streaming