Pandora has quietly become the latest music streaming service to raise its prices, following in the footsteps of Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and others.<\/p>\n
The music service\u2019s US Premium individual subscription has increased from $9.99<\/strong> a month to $10.99<\/strong> a month, matching that of Spotify, as of Friday (May 24), according to news reports<\/a> and comments on the service\u2019s community chat board. The Premium individual annual subscription rose from $109.89<\/strong> to $120.89<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Premium Family plan has risen from $14.99<\/strong> a month to $17.99<\/strong>, while the annual Family subscription rose from $164.89<\/strong> to $197.89<\/strong>. That amounts to a 20%<\/strong> increase for the Family plans, compared to a 10%<\/strong> increase on the individual plans.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the continual rise in music licensing costs, we have been able to maintain consistent subscription prices; however, the current increase in our fees indicates how significant those licensing costs are,\u201d the company commented on a community message board<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re continuously working to control these expenses while still providing a high-quality listening experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Pandora, owned by satellite radio network SiriusXM<\/strong>, works somewhat differently from other streaming services, in that it offers a \u201cradio-style\u201d experience in which listeners can choose from channels that offer a continuing stream of music. On the ad-supported tier, the ability to skip songs or search for and play specific tracks requires listening to an ad.<\/p>\n Those who subscribe to the Plus service \u2013 a sort of hybrid between the free and Premium tiers \u2013 gain access to ad-free unlimited skips, while Premium subscribers can search for and play tracks without listening to ads.<\/p>\n The Plus service appears to have remained at $4.99<\/strong> a month; however, those subscribing via the Apple and Google Play stores saw prices rise<\/a> to $5.99<\/strong> a month last year.<\/p>\n Some commenters on Pandora\u2019s community message board noted that, at $17.99<\/strong> a month, the Premium Family plan is more expensive than it is on other services, such as Spotify, which charges $16.99<\/strong> a month. Some commenters said they would be cancelling their subscriptions; yet others said they would be trying out other services.<\/p>\n However, Pandora had been experiencing a decrease in paid subscribers even before the price hikes. In its Q1 earnings report, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, SiriusXM reported that Pandora had lost 64,000<\/strong> paid subscribers, bringing the total to around 5.9 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s on top of a loss of some 200,000<\/strong> subscribers in 2023, or 3%<\/strong> of the total, according to the company\u2019s annual report released in February.<\/p>\n Total monthly active users (MAUs) on the service also fell over the course of 2023, from 47.6 million<\/strong> to 46.0 million<\/strong>, a decline of around 3.3%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For Pandora, the declining user base seems to be a chronic problem<\/a>, arising in the years after it was acquired by SiriusXM in 2019.<\/p>\n However, earnings from Pandora continued to rise, both in 2023 and Q1 2024, on the strength of rising ad sales on podcasts and longer listening times among ad-supported users.<\/p>\n Ad revenue in SiriusXM\u2019s \u201cPandora and off-platform\u201d segment rose 1% YoY<\/strong>, to $1.6 billion<\/strong> in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cThe increase is attributable to steady growth in the company\u2019s programmatic and podcasting advertising sales despite a challenged advertising market throughout the year,\u201d the company said in its year-end report<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Q1 2024, the \u201cPandora and Off-platform\u201d division saw revenues of $495 million<\/strong>, up 7% YoY<\/strong>, while ad revenue rose 8% YoY<\/strong> to $362 million<\/strong>, \u201cdriven by podcasting and programmatic revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n The decline in paying subscribers at Pandora stands in stark contrast to other streaming services such as Spotify, which saw its Premium subscriber base grow<\/a> 14% YoY<\/strong> in Q1 2024, to 239 million<\/strong>. This despite the service\u2019s first-ever price hike last year, which saw the Premium individual plan in the US rise from $9.99<\/strong> to $10.99<\/strong> a month.<\/p>\n
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