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Can Pandora's New Subscription Service Compete with Spotify?
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Just three months after the company announced initial plans, internet radio giant Pandora is ready to debut its streaming music service. For $9.99 a month, Pandora Premium lets subscribers play and choose any song or album, as well as utilize new playlist creation features.
Pandora has been around since 2000, and is known for its free, ad-supported radio service. While users cannot choose a specific song, they can pick artists and music genres, and give songs thumbs up or thumbs down to help narrow downs choices.
For $4.99 a month, the company currently offers Pandora Plus, which lets subscribers listen to music without ads, skip more songs they dislike, and download songs for offline listening. Pandora Premium, however, could help the company compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) Apple Music.
“Every day tens of millions of people trust us to choose the exact right song for them. That’s why they spend more time with Pandora than any other music service,” said Pandora CEO and founder Tim Westergren in a statement. “With Premium, we’re leveraging our immense trove of data and everything we’ve learned about personalization to offer a listening experience that sets a new standard for what a music service should be."
With Pandora Premium, users will be able to download favorite songs, albums, playlists, and stations; they can begin a “smart playlist,” where users choose one or two songs, and Pandora fills out the rest of the playlist; and users have access to a “My Thumps Up” playlist, which includes every song they’ve thumbed up on Pandora.
But can Pandora Premium successfully compete with Spotify?
To be blunt, probably not. Spotify is, without a doubt, the leader in the streaming music industry despite its laundry list of controversies and profit problems. It has 100 million monthly active users, with 50 million paying for its Premium service. Pandora Premium features a crisp and easy-to-use platform, but is very similar to what is already available to users who have Spotify or Apple Music.
Current Spotify or Apple Music users will likely pass on the opportunity to switch over, but some may stop for a second look. Pandora has about 80 million current users—4.39 million of whom are already paying for Pandora Plus—and the company stands to benefit from transitioning its current users, or listeners new to the streaming music world.
Current Pandora Plus subscribers will get six months of Premium for free, and the service will be available on iOS and Android phones, Apple CarPlay, Andriod Auto, and Google Chromecast starting his week.
Pandora will send out invitations to select current users on Wednesday, March 15, with options for all users to upgrade in coming weeks. For a Pandora Premium invite, go to Pandora.com.
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Can Pandora's New Subscription Service Compete with Spotify?
Just three months after the company announced initial plans, internet radio giant Pandora is ready to debut its streaming music service. For $9.99 a month, Pandora Premium lets subscribers play and choose any song or album, as well as utilize new playlist creation features.
Pandora has been around since 2000, and is known for its free, ad-supported radio service. While users cannot choose a specific song, they can pick artists and music genres, and give songs thumbs up or thumbs down to help narrow downs choices.
For $4.99 a month, the company currently offers Pandora Plus, which lets subscribers listen to music without ads, skip more songs they dislike, and download songs for offline listening. Pandora Premium, however, could help the company compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) Apple Music.
“Every day tens of millions of people trust us to choose the exact right song for them. That’s why they spend more time with Pandora than any other music service,” said Pandora CEO and founder Tim Westergren in a statement. “With Premium, we’re leveraging our immense trove of data and everything we’ve learned about personalization to offer a listening experience that sets a new standard for what a music service should be."
With Pandora Premium, users will be able to download favorite songs, albums, playlists, and stations; they can begin a “smart playlist,” where users choose one or two songs, and Pandora fills out the rest of the playlist; and users have access to a “My Thumps Up” playlist, which includes every song they’ve thumbed up on Pandora.
But can Pandora Premium successfully compete with Spotify?
To be blunt, probably not. Spotify is, without a doubt, the leader in the streaming music industry despite its laundry list of controversies and profit problems. It has 100 million monthly active users, with 50 million paying for its Premium service. Pandora Premium features a crisp and easy-to-use platform, but is very similar to what is already available to users who have Spotify or Apple Music.
Current Spotify or Apple Music users will likely pass on the opportunity to switch over, but some may stop for a second look. Pandora has about 80 million current users—4.39 million of whom are already paying for Pandora Plus—and the company stands to benefit from transitioning its current users, or listeners new to the streaming music world.
Current Pandora Plus subscribers will get six months of Premium for free, and the service will be available on iOS and Android phones, Apple CarPlay, Andriod Auto, and Google Chromecast starting his week.
Pandora will send out invitations to select current users on Wednesday, March 15, with options for all users to upgrade in coming weeks. For a Pandora Premium invite, go to Pandora.com.
5 Trades Could Profit "Big-League" from Trump Policies
If the stocks above spark your interest, wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington's changing course.
Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals, tariffs, lower taxes, higher interest rates, and spending surges in defense and infrastructure. See these buy recommendations now >>