Pandora Announces A Price Hike For Its Ad-Free Music Streaming Service

It will soon be a little more expensive to stream ad-free music on Pandora. The streaming music pioneer recently announced that a subscription to its Pandora One premium option will cost $4.99 per month starting in May. The annual subscription option will also end. There is good news for current subscribers. As long as they stay active, they’ll pay the old rate of $3.99 per month. The price hike will only apply to new subscriptions. And at their next renewal period, annual subscribers will be migrated to the $3.99 per month price. The main reason for the price hike is tied to royalties that Pandora must pay aritsts:

We’ve been fortunate to be able to offer Pandora One at an affordable price since its debut in 2009 at $36 per year and later with the introduction of a monthly subscription for only $3.99 per month. Over this same period, the costs of delivering this service have grown considerably. For example, the royalty rates Pandora pays to performers via SoundExchange for subscription listening have increased 53% in the last five years and will increase another 9% in 2015.

Subscribers to the iTunes Match service, who pay $24.99 per year, also receive an ad-free experience with iTunes Radio. Pandora competitors Spotify and Rdio charge $9.99 per month for subscriptions. For other news today, see: The Latest 'iPhone 6' Video Is Loud, Dramatic And Shows A Device That Will Never Happen, Analysts Are Already Split On Whether Apple Is Having A Good Second Quarter, and Apple Is Reportedly Shutting Down Its Authorized Campus Stores In Canada.