pandora

Pandora: We're 150,000,000 music lovers strong

NEW ORLEANS--Pandora has surpassed 150 million users, according to CEO Joe Kennedy.

The Internet radio service remains the second most downloaded app in the history of Apple's App Store, Kennedy said during a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless conference here today.

Pandora recently faced stiff competition from latecomer Spotify, which has managed to capture some buzz from recent announcements, such as its move open up the service to third-party developers. Spotify said a few months ago that it has 3 million paying customers.

But Pandora believes it is at the early stages of the growth curve.

"We … Read more

Clarion Next Gate puts iPhone control, app integration on your windshield

Clarion Corporation of America announced today at CTIA 2012 a new way to connect your iPhone to your car: the Next Gate.

Clarion's Next Gate is a 7-inch WVGA touch display that mounts on your vehicle's windshield with a suction cup, much like a portable navigation device. (However, at 7 inches, its size is only rivaled by the largest of PNDs, such as Magellan's RoadMate 9055-LM.) The Next Gate features a cable connection to the iPhone 4's or iPhone 4S' 30-pin dock connector for data and charging; meanwhile the Clarion unit itself is powered by a … Read more

The best way to discover new music

Finding new music has never been easier, and music podcasts are my favorite discovery path. I prefer shows with hosts that put music in context. That's why I like discussion and music sets, and occasional interviews with musicians and live performances. The shows listed below (for the most part) can be downloaded and played back when you're ready to hear them.

WNYC's John Schaefer has two daily programs, Soundcheck, which features a wide mix of music genres, interviews, and live-on-the-radio performances; and New Sounds, which, if anything, covers an even wider range of music styles. Each episode … Read more

Can Groupon grow up?

Every weekday afternoon, CNET Update delivers the top tech stories of the day. The show keeps a close eye on emerging trends, hot devices and new apps. And it's all in less than three minutes.

In today's show, we speculate on Spotify, shop online with cash, and crack open a beer to look mature:

It seems the controversial cyber security bill CISPA (short for Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) is on shaky ground. The White House threatened to veto the bill, saying it endangers the privacy of Americans and gives Homeland Security too much power.

Groupon's … Read more

Spotify reportedly creating online radio station to rival Pandora

Is Spotify looking to beat Pandora at its own online radio game?

The streaming music provider may be building an online radio service that could rival that of Pandora, according to Bloomberg.

Citing "two people with knowledge of the situation," Bloomberg said the new service would launch before the end of the year and be funded by advertising. Spotify has just begun informing content partners about the new service, according to the sources.

Spotify currently works as a downloadable application that provides access to your local music libraries and lets you search for and play music online. Users … Read more

Michael Robertson bets on talk-radio cataclysm

Talk radio is careening toward a technology revolution and tech entrepreneur Michael Robertson may be the man to lead it.

Six months after launching Dar.fm, billed as a TiVo for radio, Robertson's startup has expanded the number of stations it offers listeners access to from 100 to 5,000. The company enables subscribers to record, in a way similar to TV DVRs, from among more than 20,000 radio shows, including Rush Limbaugh, and NPR's Fresh Air and Car Talk. The service then streams or downloads the shows to PCs, mobile phones, or set-top boxes.

Robertson has … Read more

RIAA: Consumers are shelling out for subscription music

Here's a message that Spotify and Rhapsody will surely forward to the handlers of Adele, Coldplay, Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, and especially those guys in The Black Keys: Subscription music services saw revenue increase 13.5 percent last year, while the number of the sector's paying customers climbed 18 percent.

That's according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which yesterday released year-end music shipment statistics for 2011. The RIAA reported that subscription revenue went from $212 million in 2010 to $241 million last year. The number of users rose from 1.5 million to 1.8 … Read more

Pandora shares clobbered in morning trading

It wasn't as if Pandora investors needed much to send them stampeding out of the stock.

Pandora shares are trading this morning at $10.82, down more $3.43 or 24 percent, a day after the company failed to meet analyst expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended January 31.

Skepticism has dogged this company ever since it announced plans to go public a year ago. Any misstep was bound to spook Wall Street.

Pandora's revenue for the period fell short of estimates while the company's losses grew from the same time a year earlier. Fourth-quarter … Read more

Pandora's longtime VP to step down

One of the top female executives in Silicon Valley is stepping down.

Jessica Steel, Pandora's executive vice president of Business and Corporate Development, is wrapping up her nearly eight-year tenure at the company, according to tech news site The Next Web.

Steel's role at the Internet radio giant was to lead the company's business development and work on strategic partnerships with device manufacturers, car companies, and more.

"The car is one of the most popular venues for radio listening and incorporating Pandora into the native environment of automobile dashboards makes listening to personalized Internet radio as … Read more