The music business has been a crowded space for a while, said Pandora CEO Roger Lynch. To compete, the media streaming company added yet another subscription service to its platform: the Pandora Premium Family plan.
Lynch told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin on Wednesday that subscriptions are “the fastest growing part of our business.”
Over the last few quarters, he said, Pandora subscription services have grown by more than 60 percent.
Still, the company has faced stiff competition from rivals Apple Music and Spotify, two services that already offer family subscription plans. In fact, many users have left Pandora for Apple and Spotify.
“Frankly, we’re missing one of these big opportunities, which is a family plan,” Lynch said on “Closing Bell.”
In an effort to win back listeners, the company launched a new family plan, “with a twist,” Lynch said. That twist is the Our Soundtrack feature.
For $14.99 a month, up to six family members can create personalized playlists and share music.
“So if you’re driving in the car you can listen to the Our Soundtrack,” Lynch said.
Other Pandora plans include the Premium Access feature, which allows users, after watching a video ad, to try out its ad-free, on-demand service.
Pandora Media‘s stock surged — and remained up — after beating its May 4 earnings estimates.
“Pandora has had to weather lots of competition that’s entered the market already and still remains No. 1,” Lynch said.
