Pandora tried to become more like Spotify and now it's bleeding users

Pandora is trying to reinvent itself as more than free internet radio. But subscriptions come with a price. 

Pandora has been losing users with each earnings report, at 73.7 million active listeners this quarter compared to 78.1 million this time two years ago. 

Pandora Q3 Users:
2015: 78.1M
2016: 77.9M
2017: 73.7M

— Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw) November 2, 2017

The 4.4 million dropoff in users comes as Pandora tries to make itself a player in the on-demand music streaming wars, up against Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest. 

This quarter, Pandora touted that its total paid subscribers were up 29 percent year-over-year to 5.19 million. For comparison, Spotify has 60 million subscribers and Apple Music has about 30 million. Pandora's subscriptions brought in $84.4 million in revenue.  Read more...

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