This document provides a strategic analysis and recommendations for Pandora Radio. It summarizes Pandora's business model, history, financial performance, competitors, challenges, and opportunities. Key points include: Pandora was founded in 2000 and launched as a public company in 2011. It has struggled with significant net losses each year due to high royalty fees. Recommendations include harnessing big data to better target ads, acquiring a local media company to expand advertising channels, and varying subscription content like the film industry.
3. Who
What
When
Where
Why
• Founded by Will Glaser, Tim
Westergren & Jon Kraft
• Non-interactive music streaming service:
internet radio
• Founded in 2000, Public in 2011
• Headquartered in Oakland, CA
• To create individualized radio stations for
each user, that only included their idea
of“good” musicSources: 1, 2, 4
4. How
• Creates no content, only a platform
• Pays multiple licenses for content
• Each song is evaluated by music specialists
on up to 450 music traits
• Create stations based on artists, songs,
genres, holidays, etc.
• Automated music recommendation
program: Music Genome Project
• Revenue from advertisements & ad free
paid subscriptions
Sources: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
9. Current Strategy
Restrict the # of listening hours to free users
Increase the cost of their paid service
Lobby to lower licensing rates
Sources: 4, 9, 10
11. Pandora can only be
listened to in the USA,
Australia, and New
Zealand because of
licensing constraints.
Pandora
Political
Economic
SocialTech
Legal
Sources: 4
12. Rates for Pandora One
are increasing due to
increasing royalties.
Pandora
Political
Economic
SocialTech
Legal
Sources: 9
15. Pandora is available to
all smart phones.
Now available in newer
car models.
Music Genome Project.
Pandora
Political
Economic
SocialTech
Legal
Sources: 4, 9, 12
16. Current laws have not
caught up with the
digital age.
Hasty legislation has led
to flux in the industry.
Pandora
Political
Economic
SocialTech
Legal
Sources: 4
19. Easy to enter internet
radio industry based on
technology, but very
expensive.
Competitors
Buyers
Entrants
SuppliersSubstitutes
Complements
Sources: 4, 14
22. New technology trends
lean heavily towards
digitization, not
traditional music
mediums.
Competitors
Buyers
Entrants
SuppliersSubstitutes
Complements
Sources: 15, 16
24. Mix of internet and radio
create best scenario for
advertisers: it drives
Pandora’s success.
Competitors
Buyers
Entrants
SuppliersSubstitutes
Complements
25. Pandora has first mover
advantage; most
competition is growing
slowly.
Competitors
Buyers
Entrants
SuppliersSubstitutes
Complements
Sources: 4, 7, 8, 16
27. • Strong and recognizable brand name
• Music delivery and advertisement platforms
• 125 million registered users
• Proprietary music choice algorithms
Resources
• Individual song analysis
• Discovering new songs and genres of music
• Personalizing user content by following user
preferences
Activities
• Expanding further into the car market
• Increasing its registered customer base
• Adding additional features other than music
Capabilities
Sources: 4, 8, 12, 20
28. Valuable
• Yes
• multiple
delivery
platforms
• business
solution
• Pandora
Advertising
CostlytoImitate
• Yes
• first real music
subscription
service
• dominant
market share
Rare
• Yes
• Music
Genome
Project
• “Quick Mix”
OrganizedtoCaptureValue
• Moderate
• considered a
“free” service
• dependent on
ads
• high royalty
fees
Sources: 4, 8, 12, 19
29. The Music Genome Project is
an effort to capture the
essence of music at the most
fundamental level.
It uses over 450 attributes to
describe songs.
Songs are chosen by a
complex mathematical
algorithm to organize them.
Core Competency
“The ability to predict user tastes and
preferences”
30. Content
Creation
• Artists, Producers,
Record Labels, Studios
Content
Packaging
• Pandora’s Music
Genome Project
Content
Distribution
• Internet Service
Providers
User
Interface
• PC, Mobile,
Automobiles
End User • Subscribers
Vertical
Integration
Feedback: Thumbs Up & Down
Sources: 4, 20
31. Strengths
• brand and reputation
• experience in the online music
streaming industry
• Music Genome Project
Weaknesses
• only 1 group of users contribute to
revenue
• high cost of royalties per song
• only accessible with internet/Wi-Fi
• present in only 3 countries
Opportunities
• further expansion in auto market
• expand into other markets and form
partnerships add more features >
incentive to subscribe
Threats
• royalty expenses can continue to
increase
• more competitors on the way
Sources: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20
36. Vertical
Acquisition
• Why?
• Focus on localized advertising
• How?
• Acquire Townsquare Media (TSQ)
• Why TSQ?
• Compete with iHeartMedia
• Target localized advertising
• Gain access to multiple advertising channels
Sources: 24, 25, 26 Proposal #2
37. Sources: 24, 25, 26
• Music Streaming
• Radio
• Advertising
• Local Media (Radio)
• National Media
(Websites / Print)
• Live Events
• Marketing Service
• Radio
• Live Concerts
• Real-Time Traffic
• Media Research
Service
• Program
Areas of Operation
Proposal #2
38. Vary Content
& Offer
A-La-Cart
• Offer more variety in listening
material for paying users
• Newscasts
• Talk shows
• Audiobooks
• Foreign Artists
• Have different levels or
combinations of subscriptions
• Only pay for what you want to listen to
• Newest content available exclusively for paid
subscribers
Sources: 27 Proposal #3
39. Take Cues
From Film
Industry
• Both industries have suffered
because of digital piracy
• Both industries are moving towards
streaming models
• Film industry is doing very well
• Music industry is not
Sources: 28 Proposal #4
40. • Most-to-all of an artist’s catalogue
• Once available, always available
• Content available almost
immediately
• Single paid subscription level
• Does not create content
• Selected pieces of an artist’s
catalogue
• Limited time availability
• Most content only available months
after release
• Multiple paid subscription levels
• Creates content based on data
Proposal #4Sources: 4, 28
So, before I get to Pandora’s current strategy, let me tell you what their problem is: they’re losing money. A lot of money.
Spotify is also loosing money
First off, Pandora is known as non-interactive steaming: which means you have very little control over what music is played. Interactive streaming is like Spotify. Essentially, the more control you have over the music you listen to, the more licenses you have to pay.
50% for Pandora, and 70% for Spotify. We don’t know what radio stations pay, but if you think about each individual radio station and the music they play, it’s probably a lot less than any streaming service.
Pandora is even currently getting a discount on the royalties it pays, but that discount ends this year. Furthermore, Pandora and other streaming services have been under fire for years for not adequately compensating artists for their content.
So, what is their current strategy? Well, they’ve restricted how many hours per month free users can listen. They also increased the cost of their paid service from 3.99 a month to 4.99 a month. Finally, they’re lobbying to lower licensing rates, arguing that they are bad for their business model.
I do want to point out that that lobbying to lower licensing rates is a catch 22. Pandora needs to incentivize musicians to keep creating content for them. Musicians already make less through streaming than any other medium, and some, such as Taylor Swift, have pulled their music from streaming services. Other companies who have tried to avoid paying the royalties, such as grooveshark, have gone bankrupt.
Population demographics:
Age: Primarily under 18 and 18-24; some 24-34
Location: Mostly listed to in car and work locations
Latino listeners make up 25% of Pandora’s listeners
Make a side comment about Environment not being applicable.
Many of the laws are very old, and were not created for the digital age. There’s been hasty legislation. Talking how their discounts on royalties expire this year.
Bargaining power of buyers - 2 types of buyers
Subscribers that pay for no advertisements
Power: high, subscription only account for a small amount of Pandora’s income but users can still consume its product (music streaming) for free. End users can have low switching costs
Advertisers that pay for ad time
Power: medium, advertisers have little costs switching to other radio mediums but still pay increasingly more for time slots with Pandora
Threat of new entrants - Medium
Entering the internet radio industry is easy because of new technology innovations but costly due to royalties and preferential treatment if it emerges from a terrestrial radio broadcaster. We’ve seen large companies (Amazon, Google, Apple) dive into this digital music but not internet radio.
Copyright Act - Pandora must pay a royalty fee depending on the music included in its services
“non-interactive” station - fewer licenses than interactive stations (Spotify) but does not receive statutory rates like XM and traditional radio stations
Royalty rates determined by “willing buyer, willing seller” methodology which means negotiation or arbitration. It does not encourage intervention by law
Pandora pays 50% of its revenues for royalties currently and negotiations are renewed yearly
Threat of substitutes (Non-digital music providers) - Low
New technology trends lean toward digitization - does not seem likely to shift back to traditional radio
Most of radio listening time is in a car but not many listen to internet radio
Pandora working with car makers to become FM/AM/XM radio substitute in cars
Strategic role of complements (advertising) - extremely high
Mix of internet and radio create best scenario for advertisers, drives Pandora's success
It’s not the main service Pandora delivers to end users
Advertisers get access to listeners on a national scale with more precision - it has the data collection to create user targeted ads
Competitor Rivalry - medium-high
Pandora benefits from first mover advantage
Has the largest and well-known presence amongst all competitors
Industry growth is slow to catch up even though there are emerging alternatives for digital music/streaming
Revenue across all boards for digital music is losing profits so rivalry is expected to increase
It provides basic demographics related to tracking stations, songs, audience, performance, listener reception, and audience composition. However, this is only a step in the right direction.
Now let me show you another part of Pandora AMP
Do you see how specific these categories are? Disco influences, electronica roots, an emotional male vocal?
This type of insight could be very valuable for people who know their target market.
Offer a similar, but searchable interface to retail stores, marketers, and music supervisors (music supv. are the people who choose what music goes in movies and tv shows). These people already know their target market. If there was a way to enter different demographic variables, and then get music preferences based on those variables, it could be revolutionary.
Pandora could market this new product as almost the “PRIZM for Music”
Pandora could market this new product as almost the “PRIZM for Music”
Focus on localized advertising
Acquire Townsquare Media (TSQ) to create omni-channel operation
TSQ is a diversified media company that has touchpoints in radio, digital, and live event properties
Why TSQ?
Would create a vertical operation in digital area to compete with iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel)
Pandora advertises on a regional and national level, TSQ targets localized advertising
Leverage its scale to expand TSQ brands to create leaner, local advertising channel based on need/seasonality
Pandora: Radio, AdvertisingTSQ: Local Media(Radio), National Media(Websites/Print), Live Events, Marketing Services
iHeartMedia: Radio service, live concerts, real-time traffic and media research services, program syndication
Both industries have suffered because of priacy in the digital age. Both are artistic outlets that are moving towards streaming models. However, the film industry is still doing very well comparied to the music industry.
I’m going to use Netflix as a very general model: selected pieces of artists’ catalogue. Limited time availability. Most content only available months after release. Creates own content based on data analytics. Different subscription levels. Could perhaps pay extra for early access to content. Pay $.99 for week long access to a new album.
When the rights to original house of cards was up for purchase, Netflix simply looked at their massive stash of data. Subscribers who watched the original series, they found, were also likely to watch movies directed by David Fincher and enjoy ones that starred Kevin Spacey. Using their own data, they could formulate a hit show for certain audiences.