Pandora's radio data now included in Billboard Hot 100

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Despite recent layoffs and the fact that it only launched a streaming service last month, Pandora is a giant player in the internet radio market. Billboard unveiled a partnership with the service for its Hot 100 chart, and says it immediately impacted 35 songs. It pushed nine of those up by five or more spots in the rankings, including Sex With Me from Rihanna and Rob $tone's Chill Bill, which leaped 10 places. Lady Gaga's Million Reasons, meanwhile, is now on the Hot 100 thanks to Pandora, Billboard says.

Though Pandora recently launched a $10 Premium streaming service based on its Rdio acquisition, it won't be available to the public until later this year. Still, it has a very consequential 78 million users and 4.3 million subscribers to its $5 Pandora Plus (not-on-demand) radio service. "Pandora is now the number one radio station in 87 US markets and represents roughly 10 percent of all radio listening," says Pandora CEO Tim Westergren.

That's why Pandora had such an immediate impact, even services with many more subscribers like Spotify and Apple Music already affect the chart. Pandora data will also be included in Billboard's streaming and formula-based charts, including country, rock, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rap and Dance/Electronica.

Despite the boost, Pandora announced earlier this month that it had laid off 7 percent of its workforce, due to a big increase in competition from Apple Music, Spotify and other services. On top of the $75 million spent on Rdio, it also completely revamped its site late last year and is no doubt spending big to launch Pandora Premium streaming. The company is reportedly looking for a buyer, with Sirius XM rumored to be the leading candidate so far. It may be able to take some hope from Tidal, which just sold a big chunk of itself to Sprint for a reported $200 million.

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HTC's Vive Deluxe Audio Strap makes its VR headset more comfortable The SteamVR headset now has built-in headphones and a more comfortable head mount. Compared to Playstation VR and the Oculus Rift, HTC's Vive virtual reality headset is a bit of a face-hugger. It offers a window into beautiful virtual realms and boasts room-scale motion tracking but, well, it's just not very comfortable. Soon, that may change. HTC just announced that it's creating a Vive Deluxe Audio Strap to replace the headset's elastic headgear. Not only does the new strap look a lot more ergonomic, but it tacks on one of the Oculus Rift's most convenient features: built in headphones. At a glance, the new Vive head mount looks like a cross between the Rift's ridged strap system and PlayStation VR's adjustable plastic band. It reaches over the top of the user's head, like the Rift and the Vive's existing soft straps, but still features a adjustable sizing dial for tightening the band. That should be a marked improvement over the velcro belt adjusters that come with the stock band. HTC didn't say much about the headstrap's included headphones, but they seem to be a removable on-ear solution, not unlike what ships with the Oculus Rift. In other words, you'll still be able to use your own headphones if the built in audio isn't to your liking. At the end of the day, this still leaves the HTC Vive as a heavier VR headset than its competitors -- but it could go a long way to mitigating the Vive's biggest flaw. How much that fix will cost you is still up in the air: HTC says the new headgear is scheduled to ship sometime in Q2, but isn't willing to share its pricetag just yet.

The SteamVR headset now has built-in headphones and a more comfortable head mount.

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