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Pandora CFO talks about iTunes Radio, new markets
With Apple's iTunes Radio being a latecomer to the world of streaming internet radio, it's not surprising that the executives of streaming leader Pandora would not be happy with the new competitor. CNET's Joan Solsman interviewed the CFO of Pandora, Mike Herring, and found that he feels that Pandora is "a great service that does this better than anybody else," and that the latecomers like Apple are "large, well-funded companies that have agendas outside a really awesome music experience." Not surprisingly, Herring said that Pandora sees Apple's iTunes Radio as a "credible threat" to their business. In the first five days of iTunes Radio, Apple reported that more than 11 million unique listeners had tuned in to their favorite streaming channel. Pandora, with years of experience under its belt, had almost 73 million active users last month. Still, the company feels that they offer the top experience to listeners, although Pandora has been criticized by artists who feel that they're getting a raw deal in terms of royalty payments (Apple is paying a higher rate). Herring talked a bit about international expansion for Pandora -- the company is now trying out its model in Australia and New Zealand as an experiment for future expansion elsewhere. Apple has direct deals with the record labels that will make international expansion of iTunes Radio somewhat easier to accomplish, while Pandora lacks those types of deals. However, Herring pointed to another competitor -- Spotify -- as a company with direct deals that is not having much financial success with international expansion. Solsman's interview is a fascinating peek behind the curtain at the internet streaming radio business.
PandoraJam 1.0
I listen to music the way Jobs intended: on my iPod that is filled to the brim with only iTunes Store purchased music, however, I hear tell that there are some people out there that enjoy web based Internet Radio stations. Pandora is a favorite of these darn hippy freaks, with its large selection and easy to use UI. Sadly, a web service simply can't offer up the bells and whistles that an OS X app can.That's where PandoraJam comes in. This $15 app streams music from Pandora and it lets you record songs in AAC format which are then imported into iTunes with cover art and the tags you've set. It also streams Pandora to an Airport Express so you can jam to your LSD inspired tunes on your HiFi.
