Pandora saved from the hangman's noose

Back in May I suggested that Apple acquire Pandora with some of its $29 billion warchest in order to save it from certain death. Well, it appears that Pandora (and all other Internet music streaming services for that matter) got the call from the governor that they were desperately waiting for.

According to Pandora CTO Tom Conrad (via TechCrunch) the call came in the form of a resolution between webcasters, artists, and record labels, tells us. “Pandora is finally on safe ground with a long-term agreement for survivable royalty rates,” Conrad says.

The key part of the resolution involves SoundExchange agreeing to a 40-50% reduction in the per-song-per-listener rates. In exchange, Pandora is giving up a 25% share of its U.S. revenue.This agreement runs through 2015.

This is great news for everyone that appreciates online music streaming -- and who doesn't. Now can someone tell me why Pandora for iPhone was down most of yesterday?