Pandora Looks to Take Over the Dashboard (and Every Other Place You Listen to Music)
With more than 125 million registered users listening for 18 hours a month, Pandora now has 68% market share of the crowded internet radio space. What might come as a surprise is that the internet radio giant has quietly worked partnerships with 16 automotive brands.
Jessica Steel, EVP of business says “the car is one of the most popular venues for radio” and because of that Pandora is now working with a long list of manufacturers including BMW, MINI, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Toyota, and Scion.
In addition to the OEM market, Pandora is also working with seven aftermarket manufacturers including Alpine, Audiovox, Clarion, JVC, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Sony.
Pandora is pushing to get into the dashboard harder than ever, with 6 of those 16 automotive partnerships being announced in the last 4 months.
Pandora has also recently announced that they are in 450 consumer electronic devices, up from 200 products just one year ago. Most notably they are now in the new Kindle Fire and have a dedicated button on all Roku players, including the much anticipated Roku Streaming Stick.
Tim Westergren, Pandora founder said, “Growth of this magnitude reflects a fundamental shift in radio. As more and more people are discovering the joy of personalized radio automotive and consumer electronics companies are innovating to meet consumer expectations and demand.”
Whether it’s at home, on the go, or on the road the people at Pandora are making sure their users can always connect when and however they want.
[via Pandora Press]
And some people are still trying to argue that SXM is not in competition with Pandora? Insanity.
So do you have to use your cell phone data plan and your phone as a wifi hotspot to get pandora in your car? How does that work? If the car comes with wifi capability how much extra is that?
The 125 million “registered user’s” means nothing… because 3/4 of them are registered FREE user’s. I’m also one that signed up when Pandora first became available. I haven’t used it in at least a year. There are so many other better choices out there now for music anyway.
freespeech….
125 million people that have shown an interest in a product or service does not mean nothing. It actually means quite a bit.
Out of that 125 million, over 40 million are active users.
I agree there are better choices out there. In my opinion the best music service is Slacker (even better than Sirius XM), but they do not have the type of traction Pandora does.
Spenser,
Why does “125 million people that have shown an interest in a product or service” actually mean quite a bit? I’m one of those registered users and I never listen to Pandora. I understand the 40 million active users having some relevancy but please explain the importance of the 125.
Take over? TAKE over? Um….lets not get ahead of ourselves here. Pandora is FAR from “taking over” ANYTHING let alone the dashboard.
I mean come on. Firstly….AHEM! There is NO barrier to what they do. They have no unique content, and any other internet company can and does offer what they do. Not to mention that those “125 Million” users is a totally inflated number based on ACTUAL listeners…let alone PAYING listeners.
There are so many problems and hurdles for Pandora to deal with. They aren’t taking over diddly squat. I’m sorry. Provocative title if you are seeking clicks from people…but it doesn’t hold water when examined closely.
Regan…..
The “No Barrier” arguement is as bogus an argument as it gets. Anyone….and I mean anyone who trys to pull that out as a stance is blowing smoke.
In order to even have a chance at being viable, it takes 10’s of millions of dollars. That is a substantial barrier. Negotiating your way into dashboards is not easy.
I find it amazing how many people continue to call for the death of Pandora when they grow stronger each day
The title and article insinuate that they are investing to try and take the dashboard over. Notice the title says “looks to take over.” Did you read the article? Do you have an inability to comprehend words?
No Barrier? So what you are saying is that anyone can get 16 automotive deals and their product onto 400+ devices? That’s your argument? Really?
Regan, you sound like you are invested in SIRI. Is that a safe assumption?
The real question is, “how Pandora and the likes are going to monetize their penetration into the auto???” Pandora lives 90% off advertisement. Correct? So, in the case of the dashboard Pandora assumes that advertisers are willing to place their ads in the auto. Are you kidding me? Who is going to read their banners in the auto? The answer is obvious – those who want to kill themselves, and advertisers KNOW that. Or is Pandora going to voice its ads in the auto? How are then Pandora and the likes different from terrestrial radio? I would rather listen to my local station with commercials vs. Pandora. Mel mentioned in his latest Citibank Conference address that many companies live off PRs. The hint was obvious to me w/r to WHO these companies are. After more than ten years in existence pandora’s business is still MARGINAL!!! And may remain like that forever, if they survive at all. Their only vialble path to survival is starting to charge for their service, and then we will see who wins.
I understand siri’s auto penetration. People pay subscription fees, get about seventy commercial free music channels and another sixty five add supported channels many of which are unique. Sirius presents a unique platform with high quality of dependable delivery virtually in any spot of this country that appeals to zillions of tastes. This is a huge menu to choose from where hardly anyone cannot find what they like. Pandora and the likes are juke boxes crammed with ads. Now, make your choice.
“Or is Pandora going to voice its ads in the auto?”
Pandora started serving audio ads back in 09.
“I would rather listen to my local station with commercials vs. Pandora.”
There are no local stations left. Major cities are lucky if they have one rock station left.
“Pandora and the likes are juke boxes crammed with ads. Now, make your choice.”
Pandora premium is under $40 per year (no ads), while Sirius XM is over $200 (some ads). Now, make your choice.
It’s not as clear cut as you think for the masses.
Disclosure: I am an investor in SIRI AND a realist.
Yeah…i AM a Sirius investor. Does that make me biased? Sure. But i always have to roll my eyes at the hypocrisy of Pandora pumpers who are so quick to point out the bias of Siri investors….but TOTALLY unwilling to acknowledge the negatives of Pandora. Like one of the posters wrote above….how the hell is Pandora going to make money off of any car deals? Add more commercials? Making it….um….more like terrestrial radio? Also….i dont hear ANY Pandora pumpers even mentioning AT&T’s latest price hike on data rates….NONE. They keep saying data costs is not an issue. Talk about biased.
And lastly….about the “no barrier” issue….did any of you Pandora Pumpers even listen to Mel speak a few weeks ago at citibank? He flat out said Sirius would be adding a Pandora feature since some subs seem to want it.
I may be a Siri investor….but at least I can look at Pandora with a realistic eye….cause Spencer and other Pandora pumoers seem totally incapable of being honest about Pandora. The title of this article is a blantant example of this uncriticle biased eye and putting Pandora on a pedestle.
I still don’t believe you have read this article. There is nothing “pumping” about it. It has no opinion and only reports some statistical facts.
For the record…
1. Spencer was not the author of this article.
2. I don’t find Spencer to be a pumper of Pandora.
I just take offense to the title of this article. Pandora “takes over” the dashboard? Really? Don’t you think that a tad premature? Sirius has a much broader domination of the dashboard than Pandora. So why title the article with such an inflated exaggeration of the truth? Seriously. Why?
“LOOKS to take over” it does not say “takes over.” And they are LOOKING to take over so, the title makes perfect sense. The author never says they are taking over or they did take over.
So, why can’t you read? Seriously? Why?
SXMFan…..you are talking semantics. Pure semantics. This is a pump piece disguised as an innocent matter of fact piece and you know it.
I am soooo sick of such articles….which never ever mention the headwinds Pandora is facing. Never. But places like this continually post articles about the headwinds facing Sirius.
Thats just a fact.
Since this is yet another article that doesnt mention one negative about Pandora….i chalk it up as another pump piece yes. You can defend it all you want, but thats the truth.
Why would I pump a stock that I don’t own and a product that I don’t prefer to use?
OOK, got one answer. So Pandora is 40 bucks just for the service on your phone. Now if you listen to it 2 hrs everyday thats 60 hours a month. What data plan do you need for that? How much is said data plan? Not accounting for dead spots where it will cut out, or not work at all. Anyone with experience please tell
You can listen 40-50 hours on a standard 2GB data plan. Since most users are only listening for 18 hours total, typical users should have no issues.
Good points Mike. Another thing these Pandora pumpers dismiss is the data problem. They claim its not an issue, but they are so wrong. It IS an issue, and its only going to become more of a problem. Did the Pandora pumpers not even read the AT&T news about them raising their data rates last week? Or how they are no theottling down speeds of users with “unlimited” plans?
Well i did. Heavy Pandora and internet radio streaming listeners will suffer more and more in thw future. It is a FACT.
Just another negative the Pandora pumpers totally ignore.
The data “problem” is not an issue for me. I do a ton of streaming with Sirius XM and have never gone over the limit. I’m not sure who this is an issue for but, it’s not an issue for me.
BTW, I’m not pumping Pandora nor do I own the stock, I actually prefer Slacker and Sirius XM.
Ive been a xm subscriber four four years, a Sirius xm for 5 months and have used Pandora since it launched.
In my truck I listen to pandora via Bluetooth connection 90% of the time via my iPhone. The sound quality is vastly superior to Sirius. Every since the merger the quality of Sirius xm has degraded to point of being painful to listen to. that’s why pandora is taking market share. Better product.
Fix the compression issue, drop channels to increas bandwidth
Location. Do something. Sirius m but just don’t lie to the public about the “cd” quality sound.