Study: Pandora's Rank As Leading Streamer In Jeopardy

That just one of the highlights of a new study released this week by Clear Voice Research.

The study cites two main factors working against Pandora’s continued market leadership:

• While awareness of streaming services as a whole is nearly universal, awareness of specific services is relatively low. So far, Pandora has benefited disproportionately from this phenomenon. Awareness of Pandora stands at 88% of US consumers—a level rivaled only by iTunes Radio at 87%. Its next closest competitor in this regard—iHeartRadio—is familiar to 73% of the potential market. Awareness declines from there, with the least known service—Rdio—at only 30%. But as the market approaches saturation and competition heats up, awareness of Pandora’s competitors will invariably rise, leading to an erosion of its market position.
• Increased competition as growth levels out and the market tightens. Three competitors—iTunes Radio, Spotify and Grooveshark—are poised to challenge Pandora. iTunes Radio has made tremendous gains since its launch in September of last year. About 15% of US consumers report using it—putting it in the same league as iHeartRadio and Spotify—over a much shorter period. The main driver of this service’s appeal is the ability to customize playlists using a combination of personally owned iTunes tracks and streamed music keyed to similar songs. Spotify and Grooveshark offer more traditional, but nonetheless appealing alternatives to Pandora based largely on their customization options.