Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by Sirius XM Holdings based in Oakland, California, United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the "Music Genome Project" — a means of classifying individual songs by musical traits. The service originally launched in the consumer market as an internet radio service, which would generate personalized channels based on these traits and songs liked by the user. This service is available in an advertising-supported tier, and a subscription-based version. In 2017, the service launched Pandora Premium, an on-demand version of the service more in line with contemporary competitors.
The company was founded in 2000 as Savage Beast Technologies, and initially conceived as a business-to-business company licensing the Music Genome Project to retailers as a recommendation platform. In 2005, the company shifted its focus to the consumer market by launching Pandora as an internet radio product. Pandora is a freemium service. Basic features are free with advertisements or limitations, while additional features, such as improved streaming quality, music downloads and offline channels are offered via paid subscriptions.
In 2019, Pandora had about 63.5 million active monthly users and 6.2 million subscribers. In February 2019, Sirius XM Holdings acquired Pandora for $3.5 billion in stock.
Last Updated: June 28, 2021
