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Pandora founder returns as CEO as streaming firm overhauls senior management
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 29 March 2016
With Pandora having put much effort of late into improving its fractious relationships with the various strands of the music industry, members of that community will no doubt be now wondering what an executive shake-up at the top of the digital music firm yesterday means. Even if co-founder and former CEO Tim Westergren – who always bigs up his own credentials as a musician and record producer – is back on top.
Investors in the loss-making streaming firm will also be wondering the same, with the news of an executive overhaul causing the company’s share price to wobble somewhat yesterday, after a week of share price increases caused by yet more rumours that the Pandora company may be acquired.
Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews is out as a result of the rejig, which also sees Mike Herring promoted to the role of President as well as his existing job of CFO, with a wide-ranging brief including revenues, licensing, finance, legal and IT. Sara Clemens becomes COO with responsibility for growing the business, including new markets and new revenue streams, with international operations and the company’s ticketing business Ticketfly under her rule.
Pandora, of course, is a major player in the streaming market in the US, where its personalised radio service can be licensed on the recordings side via the compulsory licence administered by SoundExchange.
Various attempts over the years to reduce its royalty obligations to both the labels and the music publishers resulted in frosty relations, though the company has put a lot more effort into building bridges of late, partly because of plans to move into on-demand streaming and new markets, where it won’t be able to rely on the SoundExchange licence.
Currently only available in three countries, and predominantly based in the US, Pandora was very early to market, which gave it a big head start on its competitors in the streaming domain, both personalised radio and fully on-demand.
It has never really managed to get its paid-for version – which offers personalised radio ad-free and with more skips – off the ground, while recent plans to diversify suggest that the company isn’t confident its core ad-sales business will ever pay all the bills. Especially in the face of competition from iHeartRadio, which has a nationwide sales team through its traditional radio business.
Westergren has been CEO of Pandora before, way back in the early days of the business, before switching to the role of Chief Strategy Officer. Back in the top job, the Pandora co-founder insisted that his business was now on the “cusp” of “realising an extraordinary vision”. To which, many artists and songwriters might reply, why still only on the cusp?
But, continued the new Pandora chief: “We are pursuing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a massive, vibrant music marketplace. We have the audience, the technology infrastructure, the monetisation engine and most importantly the right team with the passion and commitment to do it. I’m 100% committed to Pandora’s growth strategy, as is our executive team and board”.
Outgoing chief McAndrews also welcomed the executive changes, possibly in a bid to reassure investors that there’s not been some kind of crazy coup at the top of the firm. Even though that’s what everyone will still assume.
Saying he was proud of what had been achieved while he ran the company, McAndrews said: “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”.
Meanwhile, speaking for the firm’s board, Chairman Jim Feuille told reporters: “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”.
