And Apple Inc.’s music service, which launched previous year, has 17 million.
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The online radio service said it has secured agreements with Universal Music Group, the biggest record company in the world, and Sony Music Entertainment, as well as a preponderance of independent labels through various deals.
Pandora Media Inc. will soon take on Spotify, Apple Music and others in an extremely competitive field by launching a $10 monthly streaming music service, and a cheaper version as well. While others like Spotify have announced 99-cent deals in the past, SoundCloud’s size gives its new offer the most relative value.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey issued a report Monday upgrading Pandora’s stock to “buy” from “netural” ahead of what it called “potential catalysts”. The lower prices could potentially redefine the value that consumers put on music in the Internet Age, where you can find nearly any song for free if you really want to.
“Even with the presence of free, you can still get tens of millions to pay for streaming services – and possibly much more – in the event that you get the price much lower”, said former digital music executive David Pakman.
“This was a truly collaborative attempt to find a solution that would support artists while profitably growing our respective businesses”, Westergren, Pandora’s founder, said in an e-mailed statement. ‘And that is exactly what we achieved. And while Spotify and Apple Music in particular are still adding new paying subscribers at a rapid rate, many reckon that $120 a year is simply too high a price for many consumers and therefore a mid-price paid-for streaming service is needed. Amazon already offers some music to Prime subscribers, but this new service will supposedly possess a more extensive catalog. Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin Network ‘We are very pleased to broaden our relationship with Pandora, and to see additional revenue opportunities being created for our members.
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As far as the licensing agreements go, the company describes it as a “win-win partnership between Pandora and the music industry”. The question is, what does the mid-price service look like, so that it’s better than the free platforms but not as good as the $10 a month services?
