It seems like we’re soon going to be streaming Morgan Wallen songs back again. According to multiple reports, Pandora Radio – the subscription-based music streaming service now owned by Sirius XM Holdings Inc. – has recently lifted its ban on Wallen after three months.
Die-hard fans noticed that the ban on Wallen was lifted at some time in the afternoon of May 14, 2021. The ban came early in February – in which the country singer was removed from its channel after he was filmed screaming a racial slur and profanities just outside his home.
However, at this time, it’s still quite not clear if SiriusXM – which provides satellite radio and online radio services in the United States, with more than 150 full-time channels – is planning the same reinstatement. The group has never issued a formal announcement on the matter and perhaps will never issue at all.
Clearly, Pandora was likely hoping to silently reinstate Wallen into its playlist after several listeners expressed their resentment. It was earlier reported that calls from Wallen’s furious fans flooded several broadcast radio stations after they had pulled the plug for his songs. At this time, the majority of America’s broadcast radio stations are still blocking Wallen, though a number have put back the singer’s tracks in response to fans’ intense protests.
Though it’s uncertain and no reports were ever released if Pandora lost listeners because of Wallen’s ban, listener attrition continues to be a major problem for the online radio platform.
While its competitors such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music keep on gaining new users and patrons, Pandora has been suffering from loss of listeners for quite some time. In fact, Pandora has lost more than ten million active users in the preceding two years.
On the other hand, other platforms are also testing the waters. For instance, Spotify – which is currently the biggest online streaming platform – recently included Wallen into a small number of its country playlists. However, they stop short of putting the country singer back into its top-tier playlist, Hot Country, which draws millions of country fans.
On the flip side, Wallen has since canceled his whole summer touring schedule in the aftermath of the controversy.
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Morgan Wallen