Though the per-song cost for Pandora is very hard on their business model, is their support of the same for traditional radio anything but hypocritical?
Oh, I'm sure the music industry loves that U.S. terrestrial radio doesn't pay performance fees. I bet they also love it when we do their promotion for them by sharing iTunes playlists with our dorm/neighborhood/company.
Look, I get that the internet is TEH FUTURE and all the old distribution channels are dumb and old. I get it. But there are reasons for why things are the way they are. And to say that the record labels are in cahoots with the radio stations is insane. The record labels hate that, by an accident of history, U.S. terrestrial radio doesn't pay performance fees (they do pay mechanical royalties to songwriters). More: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=698651
Yes, record labels hate the fact that they're tethered to Clear Channel in so many ways (not only do they own most of the major radio stations, mind you, they also own most of the large concert venues and billboards). I've been sort of flabbergasted that they haven't been more behind internet radio and the like - it's a way for them to get out from under the thumb of Clear Channel.
