Pandora now top-grossing app publisher for Apple’s iOS store

It appears caps on free radio streams have not stopped Pandora’s growth in mobile.

The music streaming company is now the top-grossing publisher in Apple’s iOS App Store, based on monthly revenue, according to app analytics firm App Annie.

Pandora -- which makes its money from premium subscribers and advertising revenue -- topped the list for the first time, App Annie said in its April index posted Thursday. It ranked fourth in the Google Play store, behind the Japanese social networking sites LINE and GREE, and the South Korean messaging service Kakao.

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Pandora’s mobile revenue has increased since it put new limits on the amount of time users can stream music from the service for free, App Annie said on its website.

Pandora recently began limiting free access to 40 hours a month for mobile users, having imposed a similar cap in 2009 only to lift it two years later.

Despite the chart-topping gross sales, it’s been hard for the company to make profits even as revenue and subscribers continue to increase.

The company recently reported first quarter revenue that grew 55% from the same period last year to $125.5 million as Pandora picked up subscribers. Mobile revenue nearly doubled to $83.9 million.

Still, the company’s net loss widened to $28.6 million from $20.2 million a year earlier.

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