Overwhelming sadness has come over Pandora subscribers in Australia and New Zealand as the popular music streaming service has confirmed shutting down its operations in the land down under on July 31, 2017.
Pandora is one of the most popular free music streaming services on the internet that was launched in 2005. Subscribers can create custom or personalised radio stations based on their favourite songs or artists. When you use Pandora, you have a chance to create playlists for your moods, discover new music and get all the information you want about the song you are listening to. Pandora also offers a paid service that is free of audio ads and pop-ups. Premium Pandora users can also download songs on their mobiles or skip songs they do not like without limitations.
Late last June, Pandora made an announcement that they are closing down their business in both Australia indefinitely. Not only that, but Tim Westergreen, founder of Pandora, has stepped down during a reshuffle, while CFO Naveen Chopra has been named acting CEO for the time being.
“While our experience in these markets reinforces the broader global opportunity long-term, in the short-term we must remain mindful and focused on the expansion of our core business in the United States,” said a Pandora spokesperson to Adnews, an Australian media website.
Pandora has over 80 million subscribers, 1.2 million in Australia alone. Despite of multiple attempts to replicate its popularity in the US, Pandora has been struggling to expand commercially in Australia and New Zealand since the music streaming market is mainly reigned by Spotify. Prior to Tim Westergreen’s step down from leadership, Jane Huxely who was the managing director of Pandora in Australia has stepped down 6 months ago.
A Pandora spokesperson said on June 28th that “After diligent analysis, we have decided to discontinue our operations in Australia and New Zealand and expect to wind down the service for listeners over the next few weeks. While our experience in these markets reinforces the broader global opportunity long-term, in the short-term we must remain laser-focused on the expansion of our core business in the United States.”
Now, Pandora has finally confirmed their exit from Australia and New Zealand in an official statement addressing its subscribers:
“ We’re honoured to have connected so many Pandora listeners around the world with the music they love,” [...] “ Our goal is to make this transition for you as smooth as possible.”
As for current premium subscribers, Pandora will make sure to take the necessary measures to issue refunds. Meanwhile, if you are located in Australia or New Zealand and thinking about installing Pandora on your device, you’d better think again.
