Pandora in The US Brings Back Founder As CEO Departs

Music streaming site Pandora has brought back its founder Tim Westergren in the wake of current CEO Brian McAndrews’ departure.

The company gave no indication as to why McAndrews left, however in a statement he said: “I am honoured to have been the CEO of Pandora for the past two and a half years, and I am proud of what I and our team of talented and highly passionate colleagues have achieved during this time.

“We have put in place a robust strategy to make Pandora the go-to source for fans and artists and position the company for long-term success in a highly dynamic space. With the team and strategy in place and execution underway, I am passing the baton on to Tim. I wish the company all the best as it continues on its next phase of growth.”

Pandora has also announced a number of further management restructures.

Mike Herring has been named president and chief financial officer, Sara Clemens as chief operating officer and chief product officer Chris Phillips is taking on an end-to-end product development and delivery role.

“Pandora today is in a strong position to maximise our full potential and expand the music marketplace,” said Jim Feuille, chairman of the board.

“Tim is the ideal CEO for Pandora as we embark on our next phase of growth. As the original founder, Tim carries the vision for how Pandora can transform the music industry and he is uniquely able to connect with listeners, music makers and employees.

“Pandora has become a stronger company under Brian’s leadership, and we thank him for his commitment and contributions to building Pandora’s core leadership team and strengthening its position in the market. Moving forward, we have an excellent executive leadership team that is focused on activating Pandora’s strategy and driving long-term value through a relentless focus on execution and operational excellence.”

The streaming radio company’s shares have dropped since the management change.

The American Stock Exchange (NASDAQ) reports the current share price is $9.6, a drop from $10.925 in the past five days.

The BBC says the music streaming company is struggling amid growing competition in Spotify and Apple Music.

“Pandora’s service allows users to listen to music for free with commercial interruptions, like Spotify’s free tier,” reports the BBC.

“It has been working to boosts its subscription memberships, which allows users to choose what songs to play without ads.”

Aussie author John Birmingham also questions how the music streaming landscape is going, as there’s strong competition and some services are eradicating others.

“As the money moves to subscriptions, the industry faces another shakeout,” he writes in a guest post.

“Indeed, shakeout seems to be the default condition for the music biz. The much-admired, technically elegant Rdio shut up shop at the start of the year, following Sony’s paid streaming service into oblivion. Apple bought Beats Music (and headphone business) to provide the core of its subscription service. Industry veterans like Pandora and Deezer are casting about for capital, partners or simple lifelines to stay afloat.

“The most likely future for streaming music is as a perk — a low cost offering, possibly subsidised, by the tech giants as an enticement into their wider ecologies. Apple, Google and Amazon all have bets on in this race.”

Lead image via Flickr.

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