Pandora confirms streaming service closure date for Australia
Pandora has confirmed its streaming service will shut down from 31 July for all Australian and New Zealand listeners.
Pandora officially relaunched in the Australian market in 2012, after a five-year hiatus.
However, a day after Business Insider Australia reported the CEO of Pandora, Tim Westergen was stepping down, Pandora announced it would close its Australian operations to “remain laser-focused on the expansion” of its core business in the US.
It also followed Jane Huxley, managing director for Australia and New Zealand’s departure from the company in March, after four and a half years. Her replacement had not yet been announced.
Soon after the news was announced, Pandora’s sales team won Mumbrella Sales Team of the Year at the 2017 Mumbrella Awards.
In a statement today, Rick Gleave, director of business development and partnerships at Pandora said he was “honoured” to work with the team in Australia.
“Since we opened our doors in 2012, the team grew our user base to over one million monthly listeners, delivered market-shaping advertising and retail distribution deals and executed highly successful music events and sponsorships.
“To that end, I’d like to thank our employees as well as advertisers, automotive and consumer device partners for their support. And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I’d like to thank our listeners for giving us the opportunity to connect them with the music they love.”
another pop up business, like Uber lol
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Why. This now throws us into Spotify as are only other choice, which is double the price of the :Pandora service
Am appalled
Tim Baker
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yeah, steer clear of uber.
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17 years is hardly a pop up business
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Pandora has some playlists which I enjoy and prefer over Spotify! I’m pretty devastated…
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Hardly 17 years for their streaming service. They streamed here for a year or two before running into licensing issues (where they decided to focus on the US as a market), took 5 years to resolve them, and stayed for another five years before shutting it down to, again, focus on US.
Pandora won’t get a third shot from me, since they’re so intent on popping in and out at their own convenience, us users be damned.
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I will miss you my friend!
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What about the people who have purchased car stereos with the Pandora feature and logo on the stereos? Are you going to compensate us all for now having a feature in our cars that no longer works. I know I’d like to be compensated as now I have a car stereo with a dicky Pandora logo on it for no reason
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What happens to all my liked song info!
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I am devastated it’s the best radio format I have ever come across,what’s the alternative?
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Im very annoyed that pandora is closing down in Oz.Spotify [edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
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Bugga.
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I am sure using a VPN will bypass that rubbish and then you can play the us market pandora. Most phones have a VPN service if not use Vypr VPN
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I discovered Pandora a year or so ago and have thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience. It is such a shame that the decision has been made to deprive Australian audiences of this wonderful resource. I too am devastated.
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I love Pandora and feel absolutely devastated! Thank you Pandora for introducing me to a whole world of musicians that I would never have otherwise listened to. Come back!! Heather
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I just paid my subscription. Do we get a refund?
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Australia is becoming more and more difficult to live in.
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I love listening to Pandora…and is devastated … hope you will return..
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So, apparently over a million customers isn’t enough for Pandora, what a crock. VPN services are all well and good but not everyone is a computer whizz and not everyone likes using those services for whatever reasons. It feels like we aren’t being told all the information in regards to the closure. Myself and many of my friends use Pandora on a daily basis and i personally feel that spotify is the weaker counter part to Pandora. But apparently we don’t matter. Whatever.
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Me too ?
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I run a small home business and Pandora was my inspiration. Will find it very hard to revert back commercial radio YUK YUK YUK, Ads, Ads, Ads and very TALENTLESS Childlike announcers in Australia.
PLEASE RECONSIDER. YOU ARE LEAVING A LOT OF US IN A HUGE MUSIC HOLE.
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I just switch over from Spotify and I was finding it so fun to craft a station just for me, was looking forward to shaping it over years to something wonderful, oh well.
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Not happy at all… Pandora was the only way I listened to music which was on average 10 hours a day.
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Totally devastated!!
What alternative comes even close!
Spotify sucks!
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The Australian governments decision to start charging gst to all oversea entertainment providers such as netflix, stan ect wouldn’t have helped the situation
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Another case of “Make America great again” and stuff the rest”
Devastated .
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Try gango
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And there lies the problem with all these “cloud-based” music services. If the service ever goes away you lose all your data, too 🙁
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A VPN won’t work with most devices with embedded Pandora support like my OPPO blue-ray player. When I heard about the closure just a few minutes ago, my first thought was “what stupid new rule has our Government brought in to ban Pandora”. But it isn’t our stupid Government this time. It’s the stupid people at Pandora. Has Donald Trump made everyone in America stupid?
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Come back P ?
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Noooooooooooooo don’t go!!!!
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I have thoroughly enjoyed you Pandora. I listen to you everyday even while at work. You help to keep me sane! 🙂
Will miss you!
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Google Play
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Smh, Pandora has always been the lesser of the big music Streaming companies, Tidal’s Hi Fidelity will always reign Supreme but even Apple Music and Spotify are better options
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I hate Spotify but absolutely loved Pandora. It was our Music of a choice at work on a daily basis. I had so many different playlists that I loved with a passion, and they shut down to concentrate on their US Market. That is beyond rude and biased! I guess it’s off to find some other app to try to provide us so music at work, since our position in the hospital I work at doesn’t get radio reception…iHeartRadio is supposed to be good, otherwise Googlelay Music it is….Google won’t leave us Aussies, Google actually like their Aussie Customers…
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I hate Spotify but absolutely loved Pandora. It was our Music of a choice at work on a daily basis. I had so many different playlists that I loved with a passion, and they shut down to concentrate on their US Market. That is beyond rude and biased! I guess it’s off to find some other app to try to provide us some music at work, since our position in the hospital I work at doesn’t get radio reception…iHeartRadio is supposed to be good, otherwise Google Play Music it is….Google won’t leave us Aussies, Google actually like their Aussie Customers…
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#firstworldproblems The sun will still rise tomorrow
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