Dive Brief:

• Pandora acquired Rdio and plans on rolling out a subscription streaming service, but marketers stand to gain the most immediately from the deal.
• Rdio is active in 80 countries, and the acquisition gives Pandora advertisers access to that global audience for targeted ads.
• Pandora has been active in revamping its ad offerings, recently launching a multi-channel brand marketing campaign as well as looking to add video to its mobile offerings.

Dive Insight:

The streaming music space became a little less crowded after Pandora acquired Rdio, a move that should excite marketers because the deal added Rdio’s 80 country marketplace and global user data to Pandora’s advertising mix.

EVP of Strategic Partnerships at Omnicom Media Group Steve Katelman told Venture Beat about the deal, “The short answer is that this is all about scale. As an advertiser, Pandora will be able to offer advertisers more reach if it can convert the Rdio user base over to Pandora services. And doing this on a global level becomes even more appealing.”

Katelman added the deal will improve Pandora’s ad targeting ability with the addition of Rdio’s technology and user data.

In an investor call, Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews announced that Pandora would add an on-demand subscription service based on Rdio technology to its free ad-based product, stating, “There are users that want both, so why encourage them to go elsewhere?”