Pandora Making Bid to Unruffle Music World

Since it started 10 years ago, Pandora has come to dominate Internet radio, with more than 81 million people streaming about 1.7 billion hours of music every month. In January, Pandora delivered more audio to mobile devices in the United States than YouTube did video, according to comScore. But along the way, Pandora has antagonized the music industry by pushing for lower royalty rates, even as its payments have been criticized as unsustainable.

To repair its relationships in the music world, Pandora has created a division to work with labels and artist managers, opened its vast databanks, and begun experimenting with artist promotions. Pointing not to the royalties it pays but to the power of its information, Pandora in October introduced the Artist Marketing Platform, a free data dashboard for artists showing which of their songs are most popular, and where. Yet, Pandora has continued to push for lower royalties, leading to skepticism about the company’s intentions.