Pandora downplays new Apple music service

A top Pandora Media executive said 80 percent of consumers would prefer to listen to advertising on Internet radio rather than pay for services like the one Apple Inc. announced Monday.

That difference will allow Pandora, the biggest Internet radio company, to withstand competition from Apple’s $10-a-month music service, said Michael Herring, the firm’s chief financial officer. Because ad-supported Web radio, like Pandora, is more popular than subscriptions, musicians and record labels are able to reach a larger audience and sell more ancillary products, he said.

“The bigger opportunity, at least in America, at least through our research, is the ad-supported,” Herring said in an interview Tuesday on CNBC. Pandora finished the first quarter with 79.2 million active listeners.

Apple, which jump-started the music industry’s push to digital sales with the iPod in 2001, unveiled Apple Music, a streaming service with more than 30 million songs, playlists curated by music experts and ways for artists to share lyrics and backstage photos. Apple is offering a three-month free trial starting June 30.

“We understand consumers are curious, and we expect as new services are offered, people will reach out and try different services,” Herring said. Pandora’s product “has a lot of loyalty and has really been very successful with a lot of competition. We don’t expect that to change.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Pandora downplays new Apple music service."