Pandora’s on-demand streaming expected to launch as early as next month

Pandora (P) will jump into the on-demand music service battle with two monthly subscription options that it could launch as soon as next month, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Pandora is close to inking deals with major record companies that will allow it to do so both in the US and in new overseas markets, though the agreements haven’t been finalized, these people said.

The company, launched in 2000, will have to seal partnerships with record companies to offer individual streams of songs as it now operates under a radio license.

Pandora plans to roll out its new subscription tiers in the USA and then in other English-speaking countries before launching elsewhere, these people said. An estimated 4 million users now pay to subscribe to Pandora One. The new service would allow users to choose which songs they want to listen to.

The slowdown in user growth has rattled investors. Its stock has rebounded somewhat since a dramatic 35 percent drop in a single day last November, though persistent rumors that the company would be up for sale have been repeatedly denied by new CEO Tim Westergren, who returned to the company earlier this year. Shares closed at $12.93 on Thursday in NY.

I’ve used Pandora for longer than any service, and though I generally prefer Google Play Music for everyday music listening – because, you know, I can pick my own music – I still prefer Pandora’s music recommendations to anyone elses.

The company is said to be “close to inking deals” with some major record companies that will let it expand the two new tiers in both the United States and some markets overseas.

It is Pandora’s variety of services and price points that have the labels intrigued, as well as, its ability to reach out to a base of 78 million active users. Pandora’s second paid subscription offering will be an upgraded version of its no-ads radio service, Pandora One, which will give listeners the chance to skip more songs and enable offline listening. Their pitch to the public, however, focused on how Tidal supposedly would compensate artists more generously than competitors, rather than on how the service actually worked, Mr. Crupnick said.

Listeners’ expectations of their digital music services have grown alongside those features’ services, like Apple Music’s exclusives and Spotify’s much-loved curation features. However, since $20 last fall to $12.93 yesterday, shows the music streaming service still hasn’t recuperated. Subscription streaming generated $2 billion of the industry’s $15 billion total revenue, according to the IFPI.