Pandora Drops 40-Hour Monthly Listening Cap on Mobile

Good news, Pandora fans. You can now stream as much music as you want on mobile for free, without having to worry about going over the monthly limit.

The Internet radio firm on Thursday announced plans to drop the 40-hour monthly limit on free mobile listening, effective Sept. 1. The company first introduced the limit back back in March to offset increasing royalty costs.

"We're pleased to once again maximize free listening for everyone on Pandora," the company's founder, Tim Westergren, said in a statement. "The more than 70 million listeners that tune in every month will now have more time to hear the music they love, and thousands of working artists will reach more fans."

Though the limit undoubtedly irked some users, it appears many didn't come close to reaching it. While in place, the cap affected less than 4 percent of Pandora's total monthly active users, the company said. Anyone creeping close to the 40-hour limit was alerted before their time was up, and had the option to either turn to the PC or pay 99 cents for unlimited listening until the end of the month.

At this point, the average listener spends about 20 hours on Pandora across all devices in any given month. About 20 percent of Pandora listening takes place on a PC, while 80 percent is on mobile gadgets.

Despite the news, Pandora's struggle with royalty rates has only intensified as of late. The company in June bought a South Dakota-based terrestrial radio station in an effort to secure lower royalty rates. Just days after announcing the deal, music-licensing organization BMI filed suit against Pandora, asking a judge to impose royalty rates that are consistent with Internet-based streaming operations, not terrestrial radio stations.

For more, see PCMag's full review of Pandora (for iPhone).