Pandora launches in Australia, New Zealand

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PandoraAs part of its commitment to personalization for local listeners, Pandora has curated genre stations of Australian- and New Zealand-specific music across a variety of genres including today’s hits, singer-songwriter, roots and reggae dub, indigenous, classic pub rock and more. These genre stations complement Pandora’s vast catalog ranging from jazz, blues and classical to pop, punk, reggae, electronica and everything in between.


Pandora Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Tim Westergren said, “After years of preparation and anticipation we are absolutely thrilled to fully launch Pandora internationally in Australia and New Zealand.  Personalized radio is a wonderful medium for listeners to enjoy music they know and discover music they’ll love. Now we begin the incredibly exciting process of connecting the 100,000-plus working musicians in the Pandora catalog with millions of new listeners. What an amazing opportunity.”

Pandora hired a local Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Jane Huxley, who brings more than 20 years of executive experience in the digital media, technology and consumer spaces.  Most recently, she spent five years at the helm of digital for Fairfax Media where she was responsible for leading the company’s product, mobile, video and online business strategies and driving growth in the business through development, acquisition and talent management.

Holden will be the first car company in Australia and New Zealand to offer full compatibility with Pandora via its new Holden MyLink infotainment system. Debuting in the new Barina CDX, Holden MyLink offers in-car smartphone connectivity that allows control of supported information and entertainment apps. In the first quarter of next year, drivers will be able to use Pandora while on the move to stream music, control radio station choices and access track information on a large touch screen.

To accompany Pandora’s launch in these new markets, the company is holding listener “Town Hall” events in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney this week, where Tim Westergren and Jane Huxley will meet Pandora users and fans and talk about the local service.

Auckland, 6:30 p.m. December 10, Viaduct Events Centre

Melbourne, 6:30 p.m. December 11, Melbourne Town Hall

Sydney, 6:30 p.m. December 12, The Establishment Ballroom