Pandora acquires Ticketfly for $450 million
Music makes people come together. At least, that's Pandora's strategy with the recent acquisition of Ticketfly, a concert ticket sales firm. With a combined $450 million in cash and stock, the deal will put Pandora, an online music streaming service, into the sales game for live events.
"This is a game-changer for Pandora – and much more importantly – a game-changer for music," said Brian McAndrews, chief executive officer at Pandora, in a statement. "Over the past 10 years, we have amassed the largest, most engaged audience in streaming music history. With Ticketfly, we will thrill music lovers and lift ticket sales for artists as the most effective marketplace for connecting music makers and fans."
Many users adopted Pandora early in the music streaming wave. As competitors like Spotify rose with more on-demand options for listeners, Pandora's radio format has undergone some tweaks and changes designed to give paid subscribers more liberty to control what they listen to. With the decline of record sales over the last decade or more, lucrative headline tours have been the best way for artists and companies adjacent to the music industry to turn a major profit.
Diversifying its profit model is one way Pandora can remain a major player in online music. Many users still flock to the site due to the radio format's tendency to introduce listeners to new songs and artists.
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