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Listener hours for online radio outfit Pandora in March 2012 crossed the 1 billion mark, up from 567 million in the same month last year – a spike of 88%. and the company’s share of total US radio listening last month was 5.8%, an increase of 3% at the same period in 2011, writes Mark Terry. Pandora says active listeners reached 51 million at end-March, up 59% from 32 million on last year.

Spotify has partnered with 20th Century Fox to launch its first branded advertiser page in Europe. The 12-market campaign promotes the release of the film Titanic 3D which premieres on screens on 6 April just prior to the centenary of the sinking of the ship on its maiden voyage to New York in 1912.

Streaming music service Spotify has rolled out a second wave of apps, adding a further dozen to the existing 10 on its initial roster. New additions include the Def Jam app offering an “entirely new way to make your lives better through new experiences in music discovery and curation’.

MTV is gearing up to launch the Artists.MTV online music hub, planning a ‘pro-artist initiative where artists can get heard, promoted and paid’, writes Maria Stadtmueller. The destination will provide musicians with a ‘digital homestead’ where they get access to MTV Music Group screens to build their fanbase and opt into a number of opportunities to get additional exposure.

‘Social Music Network’ outfit Rockcityclub.com has joined forces with Slacker at SXSW to announce the launch of a new channel on Slacker Radio dedicated to showcasing undiscovered artists and bands, writes Mark Terry. ”With this partnership, we’re giving birth to the world’s first radio station devoted exclusively to giving undiscovered artists and bands the chance to have their music heard by millions of potential fans 24 hours a day,” said Jack Wishna, founder of Rockcityclub.com.

Kia Motors America has launched its Kia Rio Windows Down playlist on Spotify. Consumers have until mid-April to submit their ideal songs for driving from Spotify’s 15 million-track library. Since the submission period kicked off on the Kia Rio Facebook page last month, more than 1,100 songs have been submitted for inclusion on the playlist, with selections totaling 15 hours of music and an average of 24 minutes of time spent per user listening to the playlist.