Pandora
Pandora Premium, Deezer Launch on Google Home in Select Markets
Pandora Premium and Deezer are now available on Google Home speakers, in addition to other audio devices that have Google Assistant built-in. The two music streaming services join Google Play Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. Pandora has seen a 50 percent increase in usage on "voice-activated devices" within the past year. Pandora Premium subscribers will be...
Pandora Quietly Launches a ‘Premium Family’ Plan
Pandora has quietly launched a Premium Family plan, allowing the music streaming company to compete with similar offerings from both Spotify and Apple Music. According to a new report from Engadget, Pandora's new Premium Family plan allows up to six individual accounts to access the service’s Pandora Premium features for $14.99 USD a month (or $164.89 a...
Taylor Swift Ends Bad Blood with Spotify, Albums Hit Free Tier
Apparently Taylor Swift has shaken it off, forgotten her bad blood, and is getting back together with a few of her famous exes, including Spotify and Pandora. According to a new report from TechCrunch, the "Shake It Off" singer’s entire music catalog — including her Grammy album of the year-winning 1989 — returned to popular...
Rdio Music Service to Shut Down Worldwide on December 22
Last month, Pandora revealed that it had acquired Rdio’s “key assets” for $75 million, which had filed for bankruptcy. Today, Rdio has issued an official statement that as part of the acquisition, the music streaming service will be shutting down worldwide on December 22, 2015 at approximately 5pm PST. Below is the announcement: "Thank you. We’re honored to have...
Rdio is Shutting Down, Pandora Acquiring ‘Key Assets’ For $75 Million
Two of the biggest Apple Music competitors are joining forces, with Pandora announcing its $75 million acquisition of “key assets” from Rdio, which is filing for bankruptcy. According to the press release from Pandora, the company has gained unspecified "technology and intellectual property," and a number of Rdio's employees will be given roles at Pandora....
Jimmy Iovine Says ‘Freemium’ Pricing Models Are Killing The Music Industry
On Wednesday, Apple executive Jimmy Iovine spoke at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit where he said that free-to-stream and “freemium” pricing models are killing the music industry. Iovine said that tech companies that offer such streaming music services are profiting on the backs of artists. The Apple executive unsurprisingly touted Apple Music as a...
Apple, Taylor Swift Dispute is “Mostly Theater” Says Former Pandora Exec
Ahead of its highly anticipated launch, Apple Music has become a hot topic in the news. Apple dropped the bomb earlier, saying it wouldn't pay artists during the free three-month trial period of its streaming service. But then, just the other day, there was a huge turnaround: Apple said it will pay artists during this...
Grooveshark to Launch New Pandora-Like Legal Digital Radio App
Controversial music service Grooveshark has revealed its plans to roll out what a company spokesman is calling their “first compliant app”, which is basically a new Pandora-like digital radio service, The Wall Street Journal is reporting. Previously, Grooveshark apps for both iOS and Android have been released only to be later banned from Apple and Google's app stores after...
App Annie: Music Apps in August Top 10
For the first time, (multiple) music app publishers have seen their apps climb to the top of the App Store charts in terms of revenue, the August report from App Annie reveals. During the past month, music app publishers have seen a spike in revenue rankings thanks to Apple's in-app purchase system. This helped Apple...