KXMZ bought by Pandora

KXMZ RAPID CITY: "Today's hits without the rap." It's also the first-ever terrestrial station to be purchased by Pandora, which is hoping to take advantage of the special licensing advantages afforded to owners of terrestrial radio stations. "This acquisition allows us to qualify for the RMLC [Radio Music License Committee] license under the same terms as our competitors," wrote the streaming leader's assistant general counsel, Christopher Harrison, on The Hill's Congress Blog. He insisted that the deal "makes sense even beyond licensing parity," adding, "We look forward to broadcasting our personalized experience to the community in Rapid City, an area where over 42,000 residents already use Pandora." Harrison additionally pledged to wear a coconut-shell bra in a photo op with the station's APD and to provide state-of-the-art toilet-flushing sounds for the Morning Zoo show. We also note that if 42k of the greater Rapid City area's 125k population (per the 2009 census) use Pandora, then senior management deserves to be on Mount Rushmore. (6/12a)