Today hasn’t started well, Pandora – the free music streaming service – has been forced to restrict International access to anyone outside the United States due to current international licensing restraints.

As of now – 4:31 PM on 3rd May 2007 – I still have access to my account and playlists but I expect this to be revoked or limited by days end.

This is a real shame as I’ve grown to love using Pandora to expand my knowledge of bands, as of today I maintain 10 radio stations and have bookmarked almost a hundred favourites from artists I was previously unfamiliar with.

My biggest concern at the moment is:

• whether I will lose my account and history
• when international users will be able to legally access Pandora

Surely a premium service will avoid the issues of a free music streaming service and cover licensing fees (if any) for the listeners country. I’m not planning to stand down without a fight and am preparing emails to be sent to local government and federal members to bring this issue to light.

Looking forward to listening to great music again soon!

Update: Sufficient advances have been made in Canada and UK to keep Pandora running, read more at Update on Pandora international licensing.