Pandora Adds Song Lyrics, Subscription Service
By Morelli
Listeners of Pandora’s Internet radio service can now view lyrics to songs while they play, thanks to a deal between Gracenote and Pandora announced yesterday. Pandora has 27 million registered users, and is looking to be profitable by 2010 through advertising.
“Lyrics are the most-requested piece of music-related information, and they are integral to the music experience,” said Ross Blanchard, Vice President of Business Development for Gracenote. “Now, through this agreement, Pandora users will have easy and direct access to the largest and highest quality database of authorized lyrics available in the industry.”
Pandora founder Tim Westergren told Bloomberg News that mobile apps are accounting for one third of Pandora’s growth. “It’s a whole new world for us,” he said. “It’s changed the perception people have of what Internet radio is, from computer-radio to radio, because you can take the iPhone and just plug it into your car, or take it to the gym.” The iPhone application alone has more than 5 million users and purports 18,000 to 20,000 new registrations daily.
Revenue may double this year to about $40 million. To make that amount, Pandora currently displays advertisements on the web and on the mobile application, and will be increasing 15-second ad frequency to two or three ads per hour. Additionally, a new subscription service dubbed “Pandora One” costs $36 a year and will make the service ad-free, while ramping up the sound quality to 192Kbps, says Tom Conrad, Pandora’s chief technology officer, in a blog post.
It looks like Pandora is slowly getting through licensing fee deals with recording companies, artists, and copyright holders. If they are able to gain rights to music without compromising their business, then 2010 profitablility could be possible. But perhaps Pandora’s yearly subscription plan will need to offer more than just higher quality, as other services like Napster and Microsoft’s Zune are going the same route.
Image via ubergizmo.com
[Bloomberg]
