30+ Key Pandora Statistics: Users, Revenue & Market Share (2023)

Pandora launched on July 21, 2005. It was one of the first streaming services in the music industry.

Pandora is different in the way it serves you music. They offer personalized recommendations based on a user’s preference for melody, rhythm, and location (trademarked as Music Genome Project).

It was bought by SiriusXM satellite radio company in 2018 for $3.5 billion.

It had 5,590 employees at the beginning of 2022.

And their number of users is slowly decreasing. See by how much (and other data) below.

• How many listeners does Pandora have?
• Pandora usage statistics
• Pandora market share
• Pandora revenue
• Who listens to Pandora?

Interesting Pandora Statistics

• Pandora averaged 50.55 million monthly active users in Q1 2022.
• Pandora had 6.328 million paid subscribers in 2022.
• A Pandora user spends on average 5 hours and 41 minutes per month streaming music.
• An average Pandora listening session is almost 8 minutes long.
• Pandora had a 1% music subscriber market share in 2021.
• Pandora’s revenue in 2021 was $2.072 billion.
• Most Pandora users fall into the age bracket between 23 and 34 years old, representing 28% of all listeners.

How many listeners does Pandora have?

Pandora averaged 50.55 million monthly active users in Q1 2022, down from 55.9 million in 2021.

Pandora is slowly losing active users in the US and has lost over 20 million in the last decade.

Here’s Pandora’s user growth table:

In their early days they started with internet radio and gained new users ever year, but after the 2014 peak, the trend has reversed.

(Pandora; SiriusXM Radio, SiriusXM Press Release)

How many paid subscribers does Pandora have?

Pandora had 6.328 million paid subscribers, according to their 2022 report.

The March 2022 report shows a slight decrease in paid subscribers compared to the same period in 2021 when they had 6.456 million subscribers.

Pandora usage statistics

A Pandora user spends on average 5 hours and 41 minutes per month streaming music.

This is more than Spotify and Apple Music measured in the same period.

Average monthly time spent streaming music on Pandora, Spotify & Apple Music

(Verto Analytics)

Pandora is the 2^nd most engaging music streaming service, with 43 monthly sessions per user.

This is only second to Spotify, with 61 monthly sessions per user.

Spotify has almost 30% more sessions per user.

Here’s the monthly sessions per month for Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music:

(Verto Analytics)

This means an average user of Pandora uses it 43 times per month which is more than an average Apple Music user with 12 sessions but less than an average Spotify user with 61 sessions.

The rankings continue with user engagement and a loyalty index called “Stickiness.”

Pandora ranked 2^nd with a 22% user engagement index. Spotify took the crown with 28%, while Apple Music was behind with a 19% user engagement index.

How long is the average listening session on Pandora?

An average Pandora listening session is almost 8 minutes, specifically 7 minutes and 57 seconds long.

This is more than an average listening session on Spotify and Apple Music.

Average listening session duration: Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music:

This is data from Verto Analytics research

(Verto Analytics)

Who are the most popular artists on Pandora?

The top 10 artists of the most liked songs on Pandora are:

• Cardi B
• Bruno Mars
• Adele
• Walker Hayes
• Saweetie
• Drake
• Megan Thee Stallion
• The Kid Laroi
• Justin Bieber
• Ed Sheeran

(Pandora Top Thumb 100 2021)

Pandora vs. Spotify listeners: Who has more?

Spotify is much more popular than Pandora, with 422 million monthly users, compared to Pandora’s 50.55 million (Q1 2022).

Spotify also has more paid subscribers, which reached over 182 million in Q1 2022 compared to Pandora’s 6.3 million.

(Spotify Q1 2022 report, Pandora; SiriusXM Radio)

Pandora market share vs. Spotify & Apple Music

Pandora had a 1% music subscriber market share in 2021.

Its market share is slowly decreasing. See Pandora’s market share compared to Spotify and Apple Music.

Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music market shares by year table:

(MIDiA; Local Sound, Global Cultures, MIDiA Music Subscriber Market Shares)

Pandora revenue

Pandora’s revenue in 2021 was $2.072 billion, $1.542 billion from advertising, and $530 million subscriber revenue.

Revenue grew 22% compared to the previous year when it was $1.698 billion.

It grew primarily due to advertising revenue growth, which was 30% higher. It grew from $1.183 billion to $1.542 billion. Subscriber fees brought in $15 million more in 2021, $530 million from 2020’s revenue of $515 million.

Here’s a table of Pandora revenue per year:

(SiriusXM Press Release)

How effective is Pandora advertising?

According to a Nielsen study, Pandora’s Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) was the highest compared to other media.

A rare study of 63 advertising campaigns of carbonated soft drink companies showed that Pandora drives higher revenue per dollar than other media.

At $1.90 revenue return per $1 spent, it was higher than the 2^nd best $1.69 return of a printed ad.

Here’s a table of return on one dollar ad spent in carbonated soft drink campaigns of Pandora and other media:

How much does Pandora pay to artists?

Pandora pays $2.1 royalty for 1000 transmissions by ad-supported transmission and $2.6 royalty for subscription transmissions.

Pandora pays different royalties depending on the method of monetization. If paid subscribers listen to your music, you get paid more.

The good thing is, they occasionally increase the payouts.

Here’s the Pandora’s payout to artists by year:

(Pandora; SiriusXM Radio)

Who listens to Pandora: Pandora Demographics?

Women (59%) listen to Pandora more than men (41%).

This is contrary to Spotify’s gender distribution, which men prefer, 56% vs. women, 44%.

Pandora listeners by age

Most Pandora users fall into the age bracket between 23 and 34 years old, representing 28% of all listeners.

Pandora users by age table:

(Verto Analytics)

Sources: Pandora; SiriusXM Radio, SiriusXM Press Release, Pandora Top Thumb 100 2021, Spotify Q1 2022 report, MIDiA Music Subscriber Market Shares, MIDiA; Local Sound, Global Cultures, Verto Analytics

Conclusion

These are Pandora stats on the number of users, revenue, market share, and demographics.

They’re slowly losing users but increasing revenue due to new subscription models and effective advertising monetization.

What do you think? Will Pandora ever again gain market share with their unique algorithm, or are they destined for closure?

If you’re looking for a missing stat, let us know in the comments below.