Pandora Achieves Milestone of 200 Million Users

By Paul Thomson :: 10:59 AM

Online music streaming service Pandora has reached a milestone number this week – 200 million registered listeners.

The service, launched in 2005, reached its first 100 million users after six years, and then added the next 100 million in just under two years.

When Pandora was launched, the company “hoped to create a new way to discover and enjoy music that was completely personalized for each and every listener,” said Pandora founder Tim Westergren in a blog post. “We envisioned a time when artists of all kinds would thrive on radio, connecting with fans who loved exactly their kind of music.”

In addition to the uptick in the number of subscribers, the rate of song streaming has also increased. According to an infographic released by Pandora (see below), the service streams 200 million songs before 10:00 AM every day – averaging around 8,000 songs per second. Last month alone, users were streaming almost 1.5 billion hours of music, listening to more than 100,000 unique artists and 1 million unique songs.

Although Pandora was one of the first streaming music services to be widely embraced by users, it has not been without competition these past few years. Spotify and Rdio have been encroaching on Pandora’s user base lately, and have also been having an impact on how the company negotiates royalties and streaming agreements with the music labels. In February, Pandora made an unpopular announcement when it introduced a cap on mobile listening. Users of the free Pandora service are limited to 40 hours of music every month.

Below, infographic provided by Pandora.