Science/Tech
Pandora wants to play for you the exact song that you want
Pandora, the online radio giant announced on November 16, 2015 that it will buy its smaller rival, Rdio for $75 million. Because of this, Pandora plans to roll-out new services next year including on-demand listing.
This new service is because of Pandora's rivals Spotify and Apple Music that allows its listeners to play specific tracks they want to hear. Spotify already has 75 million users while Pandora has 78 million.
"There are listeners who want to have both," said Chief Executive Brian McAndrews on a conference call, referring to the choice between free listening with ads and subscriptions that offer more perks, like stripping out commercials and playing specific songs on-demand. "Why encourage them to go elsewhere?"
Through the deal with Rdio, Pandora has bought Rdio's technology and intellectual property and hiring Rdio's staff as their new team members. Although, Rdio's direct deals for its music catalog won't transfer to Pandora. Pandora said it expects to offer an "expanded...listening experience" by late 2016, which includes radio, on-demand listening and live events.
Last month, Pandora agreed to buy online ticketing agent Ticketfly for $450 million, which eventually will let listeners buy concert tickets through Pandora. They also secured more direct licensing agreements with Sony/ATV, a major music publisher with songwriting rights for artists like Beatles and Taylor Swift, and another with Merlin, a group that represents thousands of independent labels.
Pandora isn't saying exactly what its expanded listening experience will be, yet. Executives said it will give competitors a run for their money, touting the strength of Pandora's data about listeners' tastes and its smarts about what to play for them.
"We know what people want to hear," said Mike Herring, Pandora's financial chief. "We can get them up to speed quicker, build libraries, build playlists using our recommendation technology in a way that's far superior to what's on the market today."
Pandora's shares raised for 0.2 percent after the deal with Rdio.
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