Pandora's Boxing: Too Many Punches Have Left It Vulnerable To A Knockout

In Greek myth, once Pandora opens her infamous box, unleashing all of humanity's evils, all that's left inside is hope. For the namesake internet radio pioneer, that metaphor is looking a bit too apt after a brutal week saw the company receive two haymakers, neither of which was unexpected, but both of which are likely to hurt. First, Apple introduced a competing service at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday that is more or less a straight up clone of Pandora and will be bundled with iOS7 starting this fall. Second, Pandora found itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from BMI, which represents 600,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The legal maneuver comes on the heels of Pandora's seemingly clever move to purchase a small radio station in Rapid City, South Dakota in an effort to cut what it pays in royalties to those groups represented by BMI.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.forbes.com