Oakland, Calif. - Pandora, an online radio service that automatically creates stations based on each user's particular musical tastes, has turned off access to non-U.S. residents, saying it does not have the necessary music licenses to offer its service in other territories.

The site previously only required users to enter a U.S. zip code for access, but will now use technology to filter IP addresses of visitors located outside the country.

"While the [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] provides us a blanket license in the U.S., there is no equivalent in other countries," Pandora founder Tim Westergren wrote on the company's blog.

"After a year of work, only the UK and Canada have shown enough progress for us to feel comfortable allowing continued access."

Pandora CTO Tom Conrad told TechCrunch the company hopes to launch in those territories soon.

Related Links:
http://blog.pandora.com/pandora/archives/2007/05/breaking_pandor.html

http://tinyurl.com/2hq672 (TechCrunch)