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Pandora Media

5/22/2013, 1:37 AM ET

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Tuesday, May 21, 12:28 PM Pandora (P +0.1%) launches Premieres, a station that gives listeners access to album releases a week before they go on sale. Records from John Fogerty and Laura Marling are the first ones supported. The announcement comes shortly after Pandora hired Billboard publisher Tommy Page to expand its branded content/live event offerings. Rocco Pendola argues Pandora's user base and data give it an opportunity to strike deals with indie artists struggling to get by under the current system. Comment! [Tech]
Monday, May 20, 1:25 PM The sell-side is dueling over Pandora (P +3.4%) ahead of Thursday's FQ1 report: Just one trading day after Maxim cut shares to Hold and MKM started coverage with a Sell, Barclays is upgrading the Web radio leader to Equalweight and raising its PT to $17 from $10. Shares now +81% YTD; 33.4% of the float was shorted as of April 30. (Piper) Comment! [Tech, On the Move]
Friday, May 17, 4:34 PM iRadio (AAPL) is "still bogged down in licensing talks," music industry sources tell The Verge's Greg Sandoval. In addition to Sony (already reported to have rejected Apple's licensing terms), BMG is said to be holding out for a better deal; one has reportedly been signed with Universal. Apple's interest in offering on-demand options not found on Pandora (P) and other Web radio services has reportedly complicated talks. Past reports stated Apple is aiming for a summer launch. 14 Comments [Tech]
Friday, May 17, 9:35 AM A downgrade to Hold from Maxim's John Tinker leads Pandora (P -0.2%) to open lower, but shares have quickly bounced. Tinker cites valuation, noting Pandora trades near the $17 PT Maxim set back in Aug. '11. He's otherwise positive, noting improved mobile monetization and the fact Pandora support is now built into 95 car models. Piper raised its estimates yesterday. 1 Comment [Tech, On the Move]
Thursday, May 16, 10:05 AM Piper raises its estimates for Pandora (P +1.9%) ahead of next Thursday's FQ1 report, citing improved mobile monetization. Strong mobile ad sales growth was a key reason Pandora took off following its FQ4 report, but the company's mobile ad prices were still only at 56% of PC levels. (eMarketer estimates) Comment! [Tech, On the Move]
Wednesday, May 15, 1:05 PM Google (GOOG +2.2%) launches All Access, its well-reported subscription music service. All Access, available today in the U.S., costs $10/month, is integrated with Google Play, and allows song selections to morph into Web radio stations. No news about a rumored YouTube music video service for now. Pandora (P -0.5%), which has weathered Spotify's attack well, is only slightly lower. Google is also announcing a Galaxy S4 with stock Android (previous) that sells for $649 unsubsidized, and states Chrome's monthly user base has topped 750M (up 300M+ Y/Y) - that's an indirect positive for Google's search share and traffic acquisition costs. (live blog) Comment! [Tech]
Tuesday, May 14, 7:53 PM Pandora (P) -3.6% AH following reports Google (GOOG) will launch subscription-based music services - a Spotify-like service, and a YouTube music video service - with at least the former service launching tomorrow. Neither appears to directly compete with Pandora's ad-supported online radio service (which thus far hasn't been hurt badly by Spotify's growth), particularly given an NYT report stating the Spotify-like service won't include a free tier. However, the YouTube service would be a unique market entry, one backed by a site with enormous reach. It would need an audio-only option to keep a lid on battery drain and mobile data usage; a WSJ report suggests Google is looking to offer one. 6 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Thursday, May 9, 1:02 PM Pandora (P +7.2%) surges to new 52-week highs after announcing it has hired music industry vet/Billboard publisher Tommy Page to be its VP of Artist and Brand Partnerships. Pandora adds Page's "immediate focus is to expand artist development programming," both via branded content and live events. A stronger original content push could help Pandora better differentiate itself in a hotly competitive Web/mobile music market. Shares have more than won back the losses they saw in response to disappointing April audience metrics. 6 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Tuesday, May 7, 2:12 PM Pandora (P -4.6%) slides after releasing April audience metrics that suggest its 40-hour mobile monthly listening cap is taking a toll. Listener hour growth of 24% Y/Y (to 1.31B) represents a sharp slowdown from March's 40%, and Pandora's share of U.S. radio listening fell to 7.33% from March's 8.05% (it's up from the year-ago period's 5.95%). Active listeners totaled 70.1M, up 35% Y/Y but only 1% M/M - that last figure suggests slowing U.S. smartphone market growth and/or competition from the likes of Spotify, TuneIn, and Songza might also be having an effect. FQ1 results arrive on May 23; shares are still up 53% YTD following a well-received FQ4 report. 4 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Friday, April 12, 11:21 AM Apple (AAPL -1%) roundup: 1) Backing up a recent CNET report, The Verge's Greg Sandoval reports an iRadio deal with Universal is imminent, and one with Warner Music is "close behind." In spite of efforts to secure discounts, royalty rates are said to be "close to what Pandora (P) pays." 2) RBC has cut its PT to $550 from $600, citing weak FQ2 demand. New products are seen providing a 2H lift. 3) More iRumors from Brian White, whose track record is mixed. He thinks the 5S will have a fingerprint scanner (previous), and says there could be a project to build a bigger iPhone. But he hedges his past remarks about the 5S arriving in multiple sizes. 5 Comments [Tech]
Tuesday, April 9, 8:44 AM Pandora (P) reaches 200M users, up from 100M in July 2011, while over 140M members have used the online music-streaming service on a mobile device. Other stats that Pandora is proud of this morning include streaming 200M songs before 10 a.m. every day, and playing over 100,000 artists in March as well as over 1M unique songs. (PR) 1 Comment [Tech, Consumer]
Friday, April 5, 10:02 AM Apple (AAPL -1.4%) could strike iRadio deals with Warner Music and Universal within the next week, CNET's Paul Sloan reports. He adds Apple's service will provide studios with fresh monetization options, such as a cut of audio ad revenue and an option for users to buy songs they're listening to. In-line with earlier reports, Apple is said to be baking in unique features, such as "the ability to jump back to the beginning of a song." Last week, The Verge reported Apple is shooting for a summer launch, while noting the music industry has a "love-hate relationship" with Pandora (P -3.6%). 18 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Wednesday, April 3, 7:07 PM eMarketer hikes its 2013 and 2014 U.S. mobile ad sales forecasts to $7.29B and $11.3B, above the $6.97B and $10.9B forecast in December. Facebook's (FB) U.S. mobile ad sales are now seen totaling $965M in 2013 and $1.51B in 2014, up from a prior $851M and $1.22B, and Pandora's (P) estimates have been raised to $372M and $550M from a prior $347M and $496M. But Millennial Media (MM), which issued light guidance in February, is now seen posting U.S. sales of $94M in 2013 and $139M in 2014, below a prior $138M and $199M. Google's estimates remain at $3.98B and $6.32B. 4 Comments [Tech]
Wednesday, April 3, 2:42 PM Pandora's (P -1.9%) share of U.S. radio listening fell to 8.05% in March from 8.48% in February, according to its March audience metrics. Though March appears a seasonally weak month for market share, Pandora's share was nearly unchanged on a M/M basis a year ago (5.73% vs. 5.74%). On a Y/Y basis, growth still looks healthy: listener hours rose 40% Y/Y to 1.49B, and active listeners 36% to 69.5M. (February metrics) 2 Comments [Tech, On the Move]
Monday, April 1, 6:20 PM As far as tablets go, concerns about mobile ad monetization could be misplaced. Credit Suisse recently reported its checks indicate search ad "user behavior and conversion rates on tablets are very similar" to PCs, even as tablet ad prices remain 20%-40% lower. The firm expects Google's (GOOG) AdWords overhaul to help narrow the pricing gap. Meanwhile, Marin Software (MRIN) predicts tablet conversion rates will eclipse PC rates by year's end, and mobile ad firm Adfonic reports tablet click-through are well above smartphone rates in many (but not all) categories. 1 Comment [Tech]
Monday, April 1, 9:57 AM Pandora (P -1.9%) slides in the wake of The Verge's report about Apple's hopes for a summertime iRadio launch, and the music industry's "love-hate relationship" with Pandora. Shares remain up 51% YTD. Comment! [Tech, On the Move]

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