OAKLAND (California) - POPULAR Internet radio service Pandora on Monday confirmed that it is getting millions of dollars in new funding in the wake of clinching a deal on music royalty rates.

Greylock Partners is investing a reported US$35 million (S$51 million) in Pandora, which is based in the city of Oakland across the bay from San Francisco.

'The team at Pandora is really passionate about music and they have worked hard to provide people a great online listening experience,' said Greylock partner David Sze, who spearheaded the investment.

'Pandora has reached some impressive milestones, including a user base of 30 million registered users, and it is growing faster than ever. We are really excited about working with the company to help accelerate that growth.' Mr Sze has led Greylock investments in hot social networking service Facebook, news aggregation website Digg, and business-related online community LinkedIn.

Pandora and Greylock would not discuss the exact amount of the investment, but neither disputed a US$35 million figure reported by financial news website PEHub.

'New funds will be used toward the continued growth and development of Pandora,' the firm said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.

Greylock joins a roster of Pandora investors that includes Hearst Corporation, Crosslink Capital, Walden Venture Capital, Labrador Ventures, King Street Capital, DBL Investors, and Selby Ventures. -- AFP