In light of Pandora's decision this week to limit mobile users to 40 hours of free listening per month, I thought it would be interesting to look at a timeline of the history of Pandora and how this website that many people cannot live without got to this point.
In defending their decision, Pandora says the change will not affect the majority of mobile users, however, since those who listen to more than 40 hours of free music per month represents under 4-percent of its active listeners. I'm a little surprised by that statistic.
If anyone out there is no familiar with Pandora and the Pandora app, is gives people the ability to stream music and comedy anytime, anywhere, through connected devices.
You set up personalized stations launch instantly with the input of what Pandora calls a single "seed" - this would be an artist, song or genre. The Music Genome Project, a deeply detailed hand-built musical taxonomy, powers the personalization of Pandora by constant listener feedback and a special sauce to design personalized stations from a growing collection of hundreds of thousands of recordings.
Each week, tens of millions of people boot up Pandora to "enjoy."
Company Timeline
2000 – Tim Westergren's Music Genome Project is launched.
2005 – Pandora launches on the web.
2008 – Pandora app becomes one of the most popular apps in the Apple store.
2010 – Pandora is present on more than 200 connected consumer electronic devices ranging from smartphones and TVs to set top boxes and Blu-ray playersm, and is able to stream visual, audio and interactive advertising to computers, smartphones, iPads, in-home connected devices and even cars.
January 2011 – Pandora is the #2 all-time downloaded free iPhone app and the #1 all-time downloaded free iPad app.
May 2011 – Pandora gets into comedy personalized comedy stations.
June 2011 – Pandora is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: P).
August 2011 – Pandora is present on more than 400 connected consumer devices.
September 2011 – For the first time since its launch in 2005, Pandora redesigns its website based on HTML5.
September 2011 – Pandora debuts workout genre stations.
October 2011 – Pandora One gift cards are available for purchase in retail outlets.
December 2011 – Pandora debuts a live personalized concert series, Pandora Presents.
March 2012 – Monthly listener hours for Pandora surpass the 1 billion mark.
April 2012 – Pandora now has 25 automotive partners (automotive brands and aftermarket manufacturers).
May 2012 – More than 100 million of Pandora's registered users have accessed Pandora via a smartphone or tablet.
May 2012 – 48 vehicle models today include the Pandora service.
October 2012 – Pandora releases a redesign of its mobile app on Android and iOS.
February 2013 - Pandora decides to limit mobile users of streaming music to 40 hours per month.
Now in 2013, Pandora, the leader in personalized internet radio, making up more than a 70% share of internet radio listening among the top 20 stations and networks in the U.S.
Pandora is huge and they can call the shots, we have to live with them, but isn't great that we have a website and application that plays not only our favorite music, but introduces us to new bands and genres of music.
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