KXMZ 102.7 FM

A commercial FM station broadcasting at 102.7 MHz with a hot adult contemporary format, licensed to Box Elder, South Dakota and serving the Rapid City market. The station is owned by Haugo Broadcasting through licensee Houston Haugo. The station became nationally prominent in 2013 when internet radio service Pandora Radio announced its acquisition as part of a legal strategy in an ongoing royalty dispute. Pandora had been in conflict with performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI over licensing rates for internet streaming, arguing it was being charged higher royalties than terrestrial broadcasters — an outcome it attributed to the lobbying influence of major radio groups including iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media, and CBS Radio. By acquiring a terrestrial broadcast license, Pandora sought to qualify for the lower royalty rates negotiated by the Radio Music License Committee, turning the station into a test case in music copyright law. The Federal Communications Commission approved the purchase on May 4, 2015, and the transaction closed on June 9, 2015. Pandora subsequently sold the station to its current owner, Haugo Broadcasting, in 2017, ending the experiment. The episode drew widespread attention to the structural inequities in the American music licensing system and the lengths to which digital audio services were willing to go to achieve regulatory parity with traditional broadcasters.