Pandora released their subscription based paid service, Pandora Plus, a little over a year ago, but still houses a majority of its users as free subscribers. Rounding out Q2, Pandora announced it had reached 6 million premium paid subscribers. Followers may not be surprised to notice the Pandora platform continuously moving toward a more subscription based model under the new ownership. If so, perhaps SiriusXM can help Pandora achieve profitability again, which it hasn’t seen since 2014.
Ultimately, if anyone can save Pandora and make it a more profitable company, Sirius is up for the challenge. Jim Meyer, SiriusXM’s current CEO, recently explained where the opportunity lies for them to increase Pandora’s in-car listening audience in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Meyer noted, in order to do this, Sirius needs to make the Pandora platform a “favorite go-to” after people who go through the SiriusXM free trial and then reject paying the monthly subscription fee, and for Pandora to then become the number one choice for free listening. According to Sirius, when the listenership of both services is combined they will have the “largest digital audio audience in North America.” According to ComScore, competitors including Spotify, in the month of September, had 33.9 million active listeners and 63 million unpaid active listeners. Apple Music’s latest paid subscriber count ranks in at just over 20 million, which also includes those on their 3 month free trial. Judging by the numbers, it seems that the streaming industry has a new contender to keep an eye on.
