Christian P. Pewitt Blogs: Pandora Just Shared User Stat No Streamer Ever Has

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Pandora Just Shared User Stat No Streamer Ever Has

As part of its quarterly report to investors yesterday, Pandora, shared a stat that no other music streamer has ever dared to share: the number of new paid subscribers not including current free trials. Competitors Spotify and Apple Music have a history of discounts and special promotions prior to announcing their user stats.

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Yesterday, Pandora reported a 63% increase in subscription revenue from 5.48 million subscribers. That's an increase of 25% year over year, but just 290,000 in the last quarter. While less than stellar, Pandora has provided a much more accurate subscriber number than those offered by Spotify and Apple Music. During Wednesday's call with investors, CFO Naveen Chopra shared that, unlike its competitors, Pandora's 290,000 new paid subscribers do not include any trial subscriptions.

Spotify, Apple Music and others regularly offer deep discounts and special promotions, and do not break them out of their subscriber announcements. Spotify is in the midst of a 60 Day Free trial that could skew its "total subscribers" just prior to their first public stock offering.

MORE:

Pandora Listener Hours Fall, Subscriptions Up Just 290K