If You Had to Pick: Pandora, Spotify, or Apple Music

If You Had to Pick: Pandora, Spotify, or Apple Music

PANDORA Music is shutting its Australian and New Zealand operations as the streaming service struggles to compete with Spotify and Apple Music for subscribers.

AdNews reported the company would shut its headquarters here even as they brokered partnerships with Woolworths for its in-store radio and Rolling Stone magazine for live events.

Pandora's final streaming date July 31, and its app and website will no longer exist for Australian users.

A spokesperson today confirmed to AdNews: “After analysis and consideration of external factors, we have decided to discontinue our operations in Australia and New Zealand and will shut down the service on July 31, 2017.

“While our experience in these markets reinforces the broader global opportunity long-term, in the short-term we must remain mindful and focused on the expansion of our core business in the United States.”

In a statement today posted by Mumbrella, Rick Gleave, director of business development and partnerships at Pandora, said: “Since we opened our doors in 2012, the team grew our user base to over one million monthly listeners, delivered market-shaping advertising and retail distribution deals and executed highly successful music events and sponsorships.

“To that end, I’d like to thank our employees as well as advertisers, automotive and consumer device partners for their support. And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I’d like to thank our listeners for giving us the opportunity to connect them with the music they love.”

Pandora’s Australian managing director Jane Huxley stepped down six months ago and hasn’t been replaced.

The closure was first confirmed to News Corp Australia by an employee on July 27.

It is the third platform to cease local operations here in the past year, with Guvera and Deezer also closing their Australian bases.

Pandora claimed to have more than 1.2 million active users in Australia with 80 million worldwide but its commercial growth hasn’t matched Spotify which dominates the Australian streaming market.

Investors were disappointed in the launch of on-demand streaming model Pandora Premium to compete with the well-established offerings from Spotify and Apple Music.

It made a bid for the automotive market, installing Pandora radio into cars made by Holden.

Calling itself internet radio when it launched in 2000 to distinguish it from streaming rivals, Pandora has been in the firing line in recent months with founder Tim Westergren believed to be leaving his role as CEO this week.

Its share price jumped in the US in the wake of the news of Westergren’s intended departure and the intention of new investors Siruis FM in the US to become more actively involved in the company.