Speaking at the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 2013 Global Technology Conference, Pandora Media Inc. Chief Financial Officer Mike Herring on Tuesday said:
“‘We will compete against any imaginary, or real competitor’ in response to questions about reports that Apple has reached a content deal with Warner Music and will soon launch its own streaming radio service similar to Pandora,” Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch. “‘We are waiting like the rest of you to find out,’ Herring said.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Sounds vaguely familiar:
We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in. – Ed Colligan, then-CEO of then-Palm, Inc, November 16, 2006
Sleep tight, Palmdora.™
Related articles:
Pandora shares drop most in 6 months as Apple inks iRadio deals – June 3, 2013
Apple secures Warner Music streaming rights for upcoming iTunes ‘iRadio’ service – June 3, 2013
Apple’s iRadio is still mired in licensing talks and may not be ready for WWDC, sources say – May 17, 2013
Apple’s ‘iRadio’ talks hit royalties snag – May 9, 2013
Apple close to agreement on streaming ‘iRadio’ service with Universal Music, sources say – April 12, 2013
Pandora killer: Apple close to deal with two major music labels; looks to debut ‘iRadio’ streaming music service in June – April 5, 2013
Apple pushing hard for summertime launch of iRadio music streaming service – March 29, 2013
Apple’s ‘iRadio’ imminent? ‘Radio Buy Buttons’ found in iOS 6.1 – February 5, 2013
Analyst: No ‘Apple Television’ this year, but ‘iRadio’ on the way – January 3, 2013
Apple’s iTunes radio should pump up heat on Spotify, not Pandora – December 3, 2012
Analyst: Apple to launch ad-supported ‘iRadio’ music streaming service next year, before ‘Apple iTV’ – December 3, 2012
I guess he had to say something. Kind of like a Cubs fan saying he’s not worried about the Cardinals this year. Every year.
“Palmdora!”
Good one, MacDailyNews!
MDN take:
Or, perhaps, Apple in 1981 publishing the ad welcoming IBM to the world of personal computers 🙂
That is not like Palm, or at least the quote included by MDN isn’t. The problem with Palm was not that they intended to compete with Apple, it was the ludicrously dismissive tone of how they said that. It sounds like the CEO of Pandora isn’t downplaying the competition. In fact, saying “we will compete” implies an acknowledgment that they will have to work to compete, which shows respect for the competitor (Apple).
So, don’t put this poor guy in Ed Colligan’s shoes. They may eventually fail, but he isn’t being a pompous ass and discounting Apple.
Apple has earned what they have gotten both good (most of the time), or bad( remember maps?). I have not yet seen or tested iRadio, but Pandora has set the bar pretty high. If they have gotten complacent they do so at their peril. He sounds nervous with good reason. Let the competition start, and may the winner be battery life.
One advantage Pandora may have is that their entire business is streaming music, while Apple would be using streaming music to sell hardware.
The problem with this is that many non-Apple products already support Pandora, and Apple would likely not license or provide an API for their service.
So… guess which service I’m going to use with my Sonos?
Apple has a large enough ecosystem to still be very successful with their service, but there’s plenty of room outside of Apple’s ecosystem for Pandora and others.
I love Apple. They are great in so many ways. I also love Pandora and am entrenched. I don’t quite see Pandora as the bad guy in this situation. They provide a good free service, even with the ads. I’ve discovered so many other bands just by using this service.
Thinking Apple is deliberately going after Pandora is ridiculous. Pandora offers no threat to Apple. Apple just wants a subscription service to sell more music on iTunes and add another service layer for Apple hardware owners. There doesn’t seem to be much money ending up in Pandora’s pockets anyway, so Apple isn’t really going after that market to make huge amounts of money.
Apple really needs to be going after Google services to make a dent in anything. Maps, search, cloud services. That’s what I want to see Apple take away from Google.
iRadio does not exist. End of story…
Until…
Something is announced.