According to the Statista chart based on data from Edison’s annual radio report, Pandora has a 31 percent share of the music streaming market. This is based on active listeners (tuning in more than once a month) rather than paid listeners, which represents a far smaller group. It is difficult to directly compare Pandora to iTunes because of the different business models: iTunes Radio offers unlimited free listening on all devices, but users can avoid ads by signing up for iTunes Match. Apple has not released any recent reports on the number of active listeners since it announced it had acquired 11 million shortly after the service went live.
Pandora’s percentage would suggest that iTunes Radio and iHeart Radio (third and second place, respectively) have around 20-21 million listeners. While users can hop between services freely (and at least one report has suggested that 92 percent of iTunes Radio listeners also find time for Pandora), that figure would suggest that iTunes Radio is growing at the fastest rate of the top three services, and is likely to overtake iHeartRadio in the next quarter or two — particularly if iTunes Radio expands to more countries (it added Australia last month, and plans to add Canada, the UK and New Zealand in the foreseeable future).
This spells trouble for Spotify, which is already an international service and well-regarded for its $10 per month “millions of songs on demand” streaming option. Nevertheless, it was rated at six percent share, followed by Google Play All Access at three percent. Rhapsody, Slacker and TuneIn Radio all took only two percent share.
First things first, I find this incredibly impressive. Remember, iTunes radio just launched last September. It does have favored nation status (an automatic place in the iTunes infrastructure), but still, well earned.
I also wonder what it is that keeps Pandora so solidly locked in first place. Is it great branding/marketing? The value of being first to market? I wonder what this list will look like in another year.
I also wonder why Panodora stays on top. Same with Netflix. Both of those services are no where near the top of their category. IMO it has to do with stock manipulation.
Pandora will stay on top (of iTunes Radio) simply due to multi-platform access. I can listen to it from my iPad, my Windows Phone, my Galaxy Note Tablet (use that one for drawing mainly, good to have music whilea ti ti) my PC and even my XBox.
Unless Apple launches an iTunes Radio for Android and Windows Phone, they will not get to #2 spot.
I have no clue how iHeart Radio is so hight, though. But they advertize a lot in actual radio, so that may have lots to do with it. I would have expected Spotify to be #2
Oh another reason not to get off-Pandora: it already knows me WAY too well. The music it gives me is what I want to listen to. Any new service I try confirms this: they just dont know me yet and I dont care to tolerate them until they do.
pandora stays on top because of the shuffle station feature. can’t live without it, and I don’t see why others don’t offer it
stock manipulation? care to elaborate on what sounds like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory?
I believe it is cross platform. iTunes Radio has a ceiling for mobile use.
iradio is also multi-platform — i can listen to it on my Windows machine at work, my OS X Mac on my desk, my TV in the living room, my iOS mobile phone, and in my car.
iradio doesnt need pandora to fail for it to be a success. iradio doesnt need to be on an android phone. it’s job is to provide a more complete ecosystem for iOS customers and sell more music on itunes. it does this quite well…i dont need pandora anymore because i have it across my platforms, and its even easier for me to tag & buy music im listening to. perfect.
You misunderstand. iRadio may succeed, but it won’t be #1 or #2 without Android support. Too many devices out there running Android, and there are more mixed-platforms homes out there than any fan of either side likes to acknowledge.
It is very common for an Android phone owner to have an iPad, for instance. The opposite is a bit more rare but not unheard off. Many users have an iPhone and a Kindle Fire or a Nexus tablet (due to it being cheap.) I know I have family that do.
iRadio will be healthy for a while, but it just won’t snatch #1 or #2 spots for a long time. I do like iRadio’s interface and how easy it makes it to buy a song I like, but the fact that my playlists and learning wont cross over to my Android or Windows Phone devices forces me to ignore it as a real alternative.
Just to make it clear: I am not saying Apple needs to make an Android version of iRadio, just that it will never get to #1 without one. They may be able to somehow snatch higher revenue, though.
Or those services are available on nearly every Internet device out there, while their competitors aren’t.
You named 5 platforms. 4 of the one’s you named are Apple products. 🙂 #missedthepoint