Pandora To Remove Mobile Cap

Pandora has announced it will remove the 40-hour-per-month limit on free mobile listening effective September 1, 2013.

"We're pleased to once again maximize free listening for everyone on Pandora," said Tim Westergren, Pandora's founder. "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."

Pandora claims it’s able to make this change thanks to the rapid progress of its mobile advertising. According to eMarketer, Pandora is now the third largest generator of mobile ad revenue, behind only Google and Facebook.

The limit on free mobile listening was introduced in March 2013 to manage rapidly increasing royalty costs. While in place, this affected fewer than four percent of total monthly active listeners. The company continues to utilize multiple additional levers to carefully and effectively manage its content cost.

Tom's Take:  Translation..we're looking over our shoulder at iTunes Radio.