Music streaming service Pandora starts limiting free use

America’s biggest music streaming service, Pandora are beginning to limit their free version.

The New York Times reports that mobile users will be restricted from this week onwards to just 40 hours of music per month.

Pandora blame the change on the increasing cost of music royalties.

The company’s founder, Tim Westergren recently stated in a blog post that royalty costs have increased by 25% over the past three years and will continue to rise by an extra 16% during the next 24 months.

Pandora’s European rivals, Spotify recently complained about this same issue, entering in talks with major labels on how to reduce royalty payments.