The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has a Pandora-like internet radio service in the works. Sources told the Journal that Apple’s service would create custom radio stations, similar to Pandora and Spotify,, based on the listener’s musical taste. Users of the rumored service will be able to customize stations based on genres, songs, and artists. According to the article, “Apple’s service would work on its sprawling hardware family, including the iPhone, iPads and Mac computers, and possibly on PCs running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system, according to one of these people. It would not work on smartphones and tablets running Google Inc.’s Android operating system, this person added, highlighting the mounting battle for mobile dominance between the two technology giants.”
Analysts and tech writers see this rumor as the death knell for Pandora. Investors think so too. Pandora stock was down nearly 17% today. But they’re getting a little ahead of themselves with the funeral plans. First, Pandora has a huge user base of nearly 55 million listeners. The Journal points out that Nielsen shows that “more adults said they use Pandora to listen to music than Apple’s iTunes.” Now we all know that Apple has a rabid following, and they’ll have no problem building a massive audience. However, 55 million users are already using Pandora. So I seriously doubt a large number of those listeners would drop the service altogether for Apple. Second, Pandora is everywhere. It’s available on almost any internet connected device including iPads and iPhones. Heck, the service may even be built into your car. On the other hand, if the rumors are accurate, Apple’s music service will only available on Apple devices and maybe Windows PCs. So what will the millions of Android users to do? They’ll keep hummin’ along with the Pandora app for Android devices. And thirdly, Pandora has 55 million users because they’re just plain good at what they do.
So step away from the casket, take a deep breath, relax, and listen to your favorite Pandora station. It’s still alive and kickin’ .
