CFO: Pandora Can Extend Its Lead

Mike Herring

Pandora Media Inc. can continue to dominate in Web-based music, Chief Financial Officer Mike Herring said, even as rivals like Apple Inc. and Beats Electronics LLC join forces, according Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Apple, owner of the iTunes Store, and Beats, which started a streaming-music service this year, are already competitors, Herring said Wednesday at the Bloomberg CFO Conference in New York. Their talks to combine in a reported $3.2 billion deal are a recognition of the “huge” opportunity in online music, Herring said.

“People are trying to figure it out,” Herring said. “We’ve done the best job to date and we think we can extend that lead.”

Apple is close to a deal to acquire Beats, people with knowledge of the situation said this month. Streaming services that have emerged have been unable to challenge Pandora, the biggest player in Web-based radio, Herring said.

“Almost every one has failed spectacularly,” he said.

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