What Is Westergren’s Exit Strategy?

According to unconfirmed published reports, Pandora co-Founder and CEO Tim Westergren plans to step down as the streaming music company’s leader, but will likely stay on until a new CEO is named. That’s the word from Recode.net, citing unnamed “people familiar with the company’s plans.” A Pandora rep declined to comment. Westergren founded the company 17 years ago and founded 17 years ago since March of 2016 when he resumed day-to-day control, succeeding CEO, President & Chairman Brian McAndrews.

Earlier this month, SiriusXM announced it was investing $480 million in Pandora in exchange for a 19 percent stake in the company and three seats on its board of directors; that deal has yet to close.

Pandora was an early pioneer in streaming music, and grew its user base to over 80 million people, most of whom used the free version of its web radio service. But Pandora has struggled to generate enough advertising revenue to cover the cost of the free service. Meanwhile, music listeners have begun gravitating to the on-demand subscription services of Spotify, Apple and others, which offer ad-free access. As Recode observes, “Earlier this year, Pandora rolled out its version of a subscription service. But SiriusXM appears uninterested in Pandora’s new offering.” The news of Westergren’s possible exit seemed to agree with Wall Street — Pandora’s stock was up 2% yesterday, closing at $8.46 per share.