From CNET: You heard right. Pandora wants to play just the song you ask it to spin.
The online radio giant on Monday said it will buy most of smaller rival Rdio for $75 million in cash. As a result, Pandora plans to roll out new services next year that include on-demand listening.
The deal underscores the pressure Pandora, the Internet's biggest streaming music source, feels as listeners gravitate toward rivals such as Spotify and Apple Music that let people listen to the specific tracks they want to hear. Spotify's 75 million listeners as of June are a stone's throw from Pandora's 78 million in September. With the purchase of Rdio, Pandora hopes to break out of its current model, which has always prevented people from picking the exact songs it plays.
"There are listeners who want to have both," said Chief Executive Brian McAndrews on a conference call, referring to the choice between free listening with ads and subscriptions that offer more perks, like stripping out commercials and playing specific songs on-demand. "Why encourage them to go elsewhere?"
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