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Savage Beast Technologies & Music Genome Project Founded
Tim Westergreen has the idea to deliver new music to listeners based on their musical taste preferences. -
First funding from investors
$1.5 million investment from angel investors -
Pandora now employs 50 people
Has cash flow issues and regularly skips payroll to stay afloat -
First Major Success
Trial in-store kiosk placement. Partnership with AOL Music & Best Buy -
Company nearly fold for the first time
Former employees sue to recoup backpay -
Walden Venture Capital bails out Pandora
$9 million investment allows the company to repay its employees -
Several major deals fall through
Forces leadership to rethink the business model -
New Business Strategy & Leadership
Focus on consumer listeners directly. Hired Joe Kennedy as CEO. Change name to Pandora Media. -
Pandora internet radio launches online
Paid subscription service only. -
Shift to advertisement supported, free model
The company sells its first ad -
$12 million more venture capital funding
Mainly from Hearst Interactive Media -
Federal board raises royalties, tripling Pandora's costs
Increased content acquisition nearly bankrupts the company, but they fight back with grassroots efforts and lobbyists. -
First Generation iPhone Released
Pandora stops everything to develop an one of the first apps for the iOS mobile platform. -
Temporary settlement of the royalty agreement reached
Better than the initial changes but still increases content acquisition costs -
Partnership agreement with automakers
FIrst agreement makes Pandora a default app in FOrd models equipped with Sync. Other manufacturers soon follow. -
Best Internet Application Award
75 Million Users -
IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange (Ticker symbol: P)
$1.3 billion valuation -
Joe Kennedy announces his resignation
Effective immediately once his replacement is named -
Major Milestone Announcement
200 million users, 140 million mobile users, 70 million active users, 2.5 million paid users, 8% share of all US radio listening, 100,000 unique artists, and 1 million unique songs -
Announced a new media planning platform
Integrates with popular advertising softwares and automates the entire advertiser process -
Pandora purchases KXMZ-FM in Rapid City, SD
The company hopes this will allow them to pay fair and equitable royalty rates compared to their competitors.