All of Pandora’s streaming rivals – Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and SoundCloud Go – have inked deals with the label.
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Today’s new additions join more than 2,700 other publishers in giving Pandora access to their full catalogues.
Pandora co-founder and CEO Tim Westergren appeared on this morning’s “Squawk Alley” on CNBC to discuss the deals and the future of the company.
As music streaming industry continues to bolster rapidly, the New York Times reveals that platforms like Pandora Media Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc.
Music industry insiders have speculated that the company would like to launch the new services as soon as possible, potentially this week.
According to Recode, the company has signed deals with Universal Music and Sony, with Warner Music next in its crosshairs. The agreements apply to Pandora’s business in the United States.
Shares added 3% in pre-market trading to US$14.70.
Then there is the issue that the compulsory licence on the recordings side only applies to personalised radio and not fully on-demand streaming, and is only available in the U.S., thus preventing Pandora from diversifying its offer and expanding its market reach.
Amazon and Pandora may be looking to up the stakes in the music streaming marketplace.
“We’re going to bring these products to market in the United States and really flush out our go-to-market strategy in the largest market in the world for music”, said Chief Financial Officer Mike Herring.
For those who listen to music all throughout the day, paying $9.99 a month for your music streaming subscription is probably worth it. The streaming company has previously paid for recordings under statutory rates established by the Copyright Royalty Board.
It can be recalled that Pandora announced in July that it had 78.1 million active listeners as of June 30.
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Pandora may be one of the originals to find success in the music streaming arena but services like Spotify and Apple Music with their on-demand streaming service pretty much redefined the business of music distribution. “Pandora is a company founded and run by a musician”, said Doug Morris, CEO of Sony Music. They will also offer a $5 a month version, but it can only stream through Amazon Echo.
