Popular Internet music service Pandora will see its royalty payments to publisher Sony/ATV increase this year, according to today's New York Post. Pandora and Sony/ATV have reportedly inked a new agreement, which includes a 25 percent increase in royalties to the publisher.

The new deal with Sony/ATV came together after the publisher pulled its digital rights from ASCAP and BMI as of January 1. The agreement will cover the next 12 months, according to the Post. Sony/ATV CEO Martin Bandier told the paper, "At the end of the day, we got a terrific deal for our songwriters. Our thinking has been vindicated. Hopefully it’s the first of many." Sony/ATV's next move will be to negotiate bigger rates from other digital services.

The Post notes that the deal is somewhat surprising, considering Pandora has been vocal recently about pushing for lower royalty rates on digital music services.