Pandora Media Inc. free essay sample

During fiscal year 2011, Pandora reported $138 million in revenue. A major business line of Pandora Media, Inc. is in advertising. Pandora’s advertising products allow advertisers to pinpoint a particular market segment and consumer by talking into account factors such as age, gender, zip code and musical interests. Pandora incorporates display adds on it’s interface to maximizes exposure to it’s intended market segment. These display ads include banner ads tailored to a listener’s interaction. Audio advertising is another product that Pandora delivers through ads delivered as interludes between songs. Video advertising is also seen through in-banner click-initiated videos that automatically play while a listener is changing stations or skipping songs. Pandora also provides mobile advertising via standard banner ads displayed in the Pandora app. Mobile advertisers can also crate station playlists specifically for their branded products. The company builds and maintains the Pandora app for supported mobile devices. (Bloomberg, 2011) Competition is fierce in the radio industry and Pandora Internet Radio has many rivals. We will write a custom essay sample on Pandora Media Inc. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Pandora must compete with radio providers, such as CBS, Clear Channel, and satellite radio providers such as Sirius XM. (Spears, 2011) Pandora also faces competition from online radio provides, such as iheartradio, Last. fm, and Slacker Personal Radio. The company also faces completion from other media content providers such as Apple’s iTunes Store, Rhapsody, and Amazon. Pandora is also in completion with other Internet advertising and marketing outlets such as Internet portals, search engine companies and social media sites. The company also competes with traditional media sources in television and print. As seen, the use of revolutionary technologies has lead Pandora to the forefront as a pioneer of Internet radio. A major breakthrough was when Pandora introduced the Music Genome Project, which, it claims is the most sophisticated taxonomy of musical information ever collected. The founders of The Music Genome Project were Will Glaser and Tim Westergren and they began in 1999. The aim of the Music Genome Project was to capture the essence of music at the fundamental level. It took over five years and 30 experts in music theory to build a database that would be useful. Each song had to be individually listened to and up to 400 musical attributes manually assessed, which required 30 minutes to complete for each song. Over 400 musical characteristics and attributes for each song are captured to identify the musical identity of the song as well as other relevant qualities. This helps understand the musical preferences of a listener. To ensure a quality blueprint and analysis, Pandora Media, Inc. enlisted top quality analyst; all possessing at least a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance and having experience in music theory from a wide range of musical genera’s. Intensive training was also given to each analyst. The database used to store this information was built using a unique methodology to include the use of specifically defined terminology, frame of reference, redundant analysis, and quality control standards to ensure data integrity. All data input was attributed solely to human intelligence. The Music Genome Project is an ever growing and evolving collection of data to remain current with new music as it become available. By utilizing this concept through its database, Pandora seeks to deliver the most robust, personalized radio experience it possibly can. Joyce, 2011) With all the information gathered, it is essential for data storage to be a top priority and focus for Pandora Media, Inc. All of the analyses for the Music Genome Project as well as the user interface is stored utilizing OpenLaszlo. OpenLaszlo is an open source platform for creating zero-install web applications with the user interface capabilities of desktop client s oftware. The programs are written in XML and JavaScript and are complied to Flash and DHTML. OpenLaszlo application programming interface‘s provide animation, data binding, layout, server communication and declarative user interface’s. The application can be created in many file types to include short or single source files, or be created via multiple files that define reusable libraries and classes. OpenLaszlo also has the ability to be written once and run everywhere. It can be developed in one location and run on multiple Web browsers. OpenLaszlo provides in a single application, the ability to support multiple deployment runtimes. OpenLaszlo rich internet applications have been used not only by Pandora Internet Radio but big name companies to include Earthlink, Verizon, WalMart, IBM, and Yahoo. Wikipedia, 2011) The most notable technology created and utilized by Pandora Internet Radio and its subscribers is the Pandora iPhone app, which was released in 2008 and accounts for nearly 70 percent of Pandora subscribers. An iPhone app is an application, typically developed by a company other than Apple and designed to be used specifically on the iPhone, iPod or iPad. Apps work much like user-installed software on a c omputer and allow the phone to perform specific tasks that the user wants or needs. Users sometimes pay a small fee for the use of an app, which is downloaded directly to the phone or peripheral. Apps helped make the iPhone and other smartphones a must-have tool for many people who want instant access to information. When the Pandora app was introduced, Pandora began receiving 35,000 new users a day, doubling the previous number of daily signups. Theses technologies are the foundation for the success of Pandora Internet Radio. Although it’s been a long journey, with many setbacks, Pandora is now recognized as the leader in Internet radio. However, the ourney to this point has been a constant work in progress. Founder, Tim Westergreen and company faced many obstacles. Issues such as industry regulations have been a major hurdle that Pandora has had to face. For example, in 2007, Pandora received news that threatened most of its revenue. A federal royalty board had raised the fee that online radio stations had to pay to record labels for each song. This put the future of Pandora in a tailspin, overnight. Pandora, Media Inc. responded by hiring a lobbyist in Washington D. C. and solicited listeners to write to their congressmen. After a two-year battle, the federal royalty board agreed on a lower rate. Fortunately, the company had the perseverance needed to not falter when facing these adversities; unlike predecessors such as SpiralFrog and Napster. And, with the emergence of the popular iPhone, Pandora was able to harness these technologies to gain its competitive advantage. Today, Pandora has over 80 million users, which tune in an average of 12 hours per month. (Schonfeld, 2011) This figure is projected to increase as Pandora service becomes more available in modern makers of cars, televisions, and stereos. Pandora reported it’s first profitable quarter at the end of 2009 with $50 million in annual revenue for the year. (Miller, 2010) It can clearly be seen how the use of technology has been vital to the rise and continued success of Pandora. Beginning with the groundbreaking collection of information stored via the Music Genome Project, to Pandora’s robust online user interface utilizing an OpenLaszlo platform, to the introduction of the Pandora smartphone app, to Pandora’s expansion into the automotive and consumer electronics industry; we can see the enormous impact innovative technology can have in business.