The leading internet radio company is going old-school with the acquisition of KXMZ-FM Rapid City SD. The station is being sold by Jeff Warshaw’s Connoisseur Media. Pandora says it’s making the move to leverage its contracts with composer rights organizations.
The station is a Class C2 on 102.7 MHz with 50 kW @ 449’. It plays “Today’s Best Hits.”
Terms of the deal were not divulged in an SEC filing, but the motivation was. Pandora stated, “This acquisition is being made in part to allow the Company to qualify for certain Radio Music Licensing Committee (“RMLC”) settlement agreements concerning royalties and public performance of musical works in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music, Inc. repertories. The Company believes that qualifying for these royalty rates could provide the Company with modest savings (less than 1% of revenue) in content acquisition cost compared with the rates it is currently paying.”
