Pandora will challenge the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music for the likes of streaming music supremacy with its newly unveiled service, Pandora Premium, from early next year.
Born out of Rdio's ashes, which Pandora acquired and shuttered at the end of last year, Premium is set to combine a large catalogue of on-demand music with all of the smarts the service has accumulated in its years of providing music recommendations through its online radio service.
Existing Pandora listening data will feed into Premium's recommendation engine, and existing users will see playlists of every song they've given a thumbs-up.
Pandora Premium also looks like it will have a large emphasis on discovery, with a "new music" section that shows new release albums based on your taste in music. And after you finish listening to a playlist or album, Pandora Premium will start playing similar music it thinks you'll enjoy.
Given that almost 80 million users around the world already use the ad-supported version of Pandora, if the company is able to convert, say, 25% of its subscribers into paying customers, it could easily become a major player in on-demand music streaming
Pandora Premium will launch in the first quarter of next year. Local pricing has yet to be confirmed, but there's a good chance it will cost $12 per month, just like Apple Music, Spotify Premium, and Google Play Music.
Alex Choros
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