Pandora to Acquire Next Big Sound

The leader in music streaming will team up with the top provider of artist insights to bring powerful data tools to the music industry

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pandora (NYSE: P), the leading Internet radio service, today announced that it has agreed to acquire Next Big Sound, the leading provider of online music analytics, for an undisclosed sum. The deal marks the latest step in Pandora’s commitment to become an indispensable partner to the music industry and accelerates its strategy of harnessing data for the benefit of music makers.

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This acquisition will provide Pandora with a powerful analytics tool used by tens of thousands of music makers, labels and marketers looking for data and insights about artists and their fans. Launched in 2009, Next Big Sound combines music consumption data into one centralized platform. The music industry counts on Next Big Sound to:

• Quantify the relationship between social media and revenue.
• Understand the impact of marketing and promotional events such as TV appearances, press interviews, and new releases.
• Drive marketing decisions for artists, managers, agents, publishers, promoters, labels and brands across the global music industry.
• Deploy prediction algorithms to help identify high-potential artists at the earliest possible stage.

“The combination of Pandora’s listening data and Next Big Sound’s analytical capabilities will create a vital source of data,” said Brian McAndrews, CEO at Pandora. “Next Big Sound shares our passion for music and respect for those who make it. I’m incredibly excited to unleash the combined potential of our two companies and have the Next Big Sound team join us.”

“We are thrilled to be joining Pandora,” said Alex White, CEO at Next Big Sound. “In them, we’ve found a great partner who, like us, believes data has the power to transform the music industry.”

Next Big Sound will expand the suite of data-driven products Pandora offers music makers, the core of which is Pandora’s Artist Marketing Platform (AMP) that offers both Artist Insights as well as Artist Audio Messaging. Next Big Sound’s capabilities will complement these offerings, which are designed to help music makers grow their careers. Next Big Sound’s offering will also be enhanced through the addition of Pandora’s data on music preferences, patterns and trends. Pandora’s data reflects insights from nearly 80 million monthly active users who have provided more than 50 billion thumbs on tracks played. Added to Next Big Sound’s current insights, the data set powered by both companies will deliver an unprecedented trove of information to the music industry.

The acquisition will also benefit brands that advertise with Pandora by delivering access to insights that can help them identify artists to partner with and measure the reach and impact they achieve through those partnerships.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.

ABOUT PANDORA

Pandora (NYSE: P) gives people music and comedy they love anytime, anywhere, through connected devices. Personalized stations launch instantly with the input of a single "seed" - a favorite artist, song, or genre. The Music Genome Project®, a deeply detailed hand-built musical taxonomy, powers the personalization of Pandora® internet radio by using musicological "DNA" and constant listener feedback to craft personalized stations from a growing collection of more than one million tracks. Tens of millions of people turn on Pandora every day to hear music they love. www.pandora.com | Pandora Blog | Pandora LinkedIn | @PandoraPulse

ABOUT NEXT BIG SOUND

Launched in 2009, Next Big Sound is the leading provider of online music analytics and insights tracking hundreds of thousands of artists around the world. Next Big Sound gathers social, sales and streaming data into one central platform. Sources range from Facebook and Twitter, to Wikipedia, artist websites, Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes. To put this information into context, event data such as concerts, release dates, television appearances and press mentions are incorporated, as well as the rich demographic data that helps artists become better acquainted with their fan base. Next Big Sound is used by tens of thousands of individual bands and managers as well as the biggest labels, distributors and brands in the world. Next Big Sound powers the Social 50 and Next Big Sound branded chart for Billboard and is based in NYC.

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Pandora
Dominic Paschel, 510-842-6960
Corporate Finance & Investor Relations
[email protected]
or
Erika White, 847-814-2151
Pandora Corporate Communications
[email protected]

Source: Pandora

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