Songza Looks to Topple Pandora’s Dominance in Online Radio
Though the internet radio company Songza has been around in one form or another since 2007, most people are just now getting word of the service in the past week or so. The new high visibility of the company was caused by the release of the first iPad app earlier this month.
Though the company had already had apps released for iPhone and Android, the new iPad app was an immediate success. It was so successful, in fact, that it caused the worth of internet radio leader Pandora to drop 11.2 percent in just two days. This meant that the company’s market value dropped $208 million.
The iPad verision of the Songza app was released Thursday, June 7, and by Friday night was the number one free iPad app on iTunes. A representative for Songza said at the time that the app had been installed 710,000 times in five days.
Songza is just the next in a long line of competitors that have emerged to challenge Pandora. Some, like Spotify and iHeartRadio, have been successful while others haves names we’ll never remember again. But in a blog post, industry analyst Richard Greenfield likened Songza to Instagram and said that Pandora investors need to be worried this time.
“In many ways Songza’s simplicity and focus on mobile life, reminds us of what drove Instagram’s success, as consumer web activity shifts far faster than expected from computers to mobile devices,” Greenfield wrote.
The service works by helping listeners find the perfect playlist for whatever is going on in their lives at the moment. Playlists are offered depending on time of day, time of year, and user preferences.
“We’re trying to make the world’s greatest collection of amazing playlists and long-form listening experiences,” said Songza fo-founder Elias Roman.
The service also caters its playlist as it learns what kinds of music and songs the user prefers.
“We change situations, filters and playlists based on things we start to learn about you,” said another co-founder, Peter Asbill.