Pandora said it will make several changes to its fee structure beginning in May. Pandora One monthly customers who already pay $3.99 for ad-free listening can continue to listen at the same price.
However, new monthly subscribers will have to pay $4.99 per month, an increase of $1 over today’s rates. Customers who chose Pandora’s $36 annual fee will be moved to a “discounted loyalty price” of $3.99 per month, which represents a price increase of $12 for the year, or $1 per month. Moving forward, Pandora will no longer offer the annual subscription option. Pandora says these changes are necessary to offset increased costs, such as licensing fees. It claims the changes will affect only 3.3 million of its 250 million registered users.
All customers can listen to music with ads for free. Pandora is an internet-based radio station provider that has apps for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, and Windows Phone devices.