From time to time, I comment on online music services. Such comments have included Pandora, Last.fm (cost issue), and others (search music on my other blog). The issues involved are interesting and in some very general ways are relevant to education (e.g., copyright, free content).
Evidently, some of the issues associated with music sites (not file sharing, but sites that are basicaly Internet radio) have been resolved. Evidently, the fees these sites are charged for offering listeners access have been brought more in line with the number of actual listeners (my interpretations). There do now appear to be some concessions from the providers. Slashdot reports that Pandora will now require users who listen to more than 40 hours in a month to pay 99 cents for continued access within that month. 40 HOURS! This hardly seems a hardship.
BTW – I pay $3 for my last.fm account. I am not even exactly sure why. I like the stats. I guess i don’t have to look at ads – not a big deal when the focus is listening to the music.
This topic is interesting because of the “monetization” issue that all Internet users must accept in all areas. The changes within this industry may offer a preview.
