Music streaming service Pandora is reportedly shuttering their Australian and New Zealand operations amidst a re-structure of the company to focus on the US market.
Pandora will end services for Australian and New Zealand users over the next few weeks, as well as close their local offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.
In a statement, a spokesperson said
While our experience in these markets reinforces the broader global opportunity long-term, in the short-term we must remain laser-focused on the expansion of our core business in the United States.
This means one less music streaming service available here in Australia, with other services such as JB Hifi’s ‘Now’ service shuttering their service in March, while Guvera exited Australia in July last year.
Pandora’s presence in Australia was their only non-US market being served and it appears the decision to exit the markets here and concentrate on the US market is signs of other issues at the company. Pandora’s CEO, Tim Westergren stepped down this week, President, Mike Herring, and Chief Marketing Officer, Nick Bartle, are also down from their roles. When moves like that are happening, not all is well at a company.
At this stage, users haven’t been notified of the closure and you can still sign up for a free account on the Pandora website using an Australian post code. We’ll likely see notifications heading out very soon though.
If you’re a Pandora customer, it’s time to start looking around for other options.
