If you’re an active “free” listener on Pandora be prepared to be hit with a $.99 fee to go beyond 40-hours which will give you access through the remainder of the month.

Here’s a simplified look at how the per song/listener rates shake out:

Proposed CRB per song/listener rate: $0.19 by 2010

Under new deal:

Large webcasters ($1.25 M/year):  $0.14  by 2015

Subscriber services: capped at $0.25 by 2015

If you’re used to listening to music online, it’s safe to say your service will be there for you for a while. Maybe this period of relief will enable Pandora to focus on alternatives to its required Amazon Advantage Program fee to artists for getting their music heard.

But, it’s the $29.95 payment to join the Amazon Advantage Program now required by Pandora from artists to give their music exposure that has many fearing a new wave of MySpace-like back turning. If you can swim through the maelstrom of expressed discontent there is actually a rationale for Pandora’s decision as well as an alternate approach that could resolve the issue for both indies and Pandora.

I am far from excusing Pandora’s suddenly baiting-and switching from free access to the required $29.95 plus CD and zebra stripe. But, I believe the decision is based on issues a lot of social sites are currently faced with, namely, coming to terms with how to monetize their vision. In Pandora’s case, it’s “free” model cannot financially support dependable buy-links, accurate meta-data and a well-orchestrated submission process. But, even the Pandora gray matters have to see that the $29.95 solution is drastic and limiting. Why not create a pay-to-Pandora fee to help remunerate its costs instead of having to join the Amazon Advantage Program. Offer free limited tracks exposure through an MP3 gateway (the Amazon MP3 store includes art, zebra stripe, buy-link and meta-data) as the first step in a tiered approach of graduated service fees for selling album-equivalent MP3 tracks up to a full CD.

And,a final word to all those non-artist critics asserting that indie artists should stop looking for a free ride: there are many indie bands struggling financially to get their music careers off the ground who would gladly accept your checks to underwrite their CD replication costs so they can stop frying dog food to eat. Instead of listening to royalty-avoided ripped-off music in the car your parents bought you, get your ass on a tour bus for a month living gig to gig pooling your door take to pay for the tranny repair. It’s all about the music. Bands will and have always found ways to pay for their music to be heard. Just don’t tell ‘em its free one day and “not” the next.