Music streaming service Pandora said this week it plans to move an unspecified number of workers to Atlanta as part of a broader restructuring of its business.
The Oakland, Calif.-based company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing it will cut 5 percent of its workforce as part the restructuring plan, which it expects will result in about $45 million in annual cost savings. The changes, in addition to cutting costs, will focus on advertising technology and audience development.
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Pandora competes in the crowded streaming music business against rivals such as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon. The company said in November it had 5.2 million total subscribers, of which 1 million were paid users of its premium service.
The popularity of streaming services has boomed in recent years. A federal copyright board recently raised royalties for streamed songs to songwriters and music publishers, the Associated Press reported, which could increase costs for the streaming companies.
Pandora reported it had 2,488 employees at the end of 2016 and 5 percent of that figure would amount to about 125 workers.
Representatives of Pandora declined to provide details on the number of workers that might move to the company’s Atlanta office. The company said more information will be available during the company’s next earnings call on Feb. 21.
The company occupies space in a tower on 17th Street in Atlantic Station.
A press release said the Atlanta move would be an expansion of Pandora’s workforce and presence here, and said the move would provide “a significant opportunity to add instrumental talent in a region with lower costs than the company’s headquarters in Oakland.”
“Atlanta is a city with a rich history in music and a large pool of diverse tech talent that we can tap into as we scale,” Pandora CEO Roger Lynch said in the release. “While we are committed to having Oakland remain our headquarters, we’re excited to build on the great foundation of our awesome team there and expand our presence in Atlanta over time.”
Pandora reported a net loss to common shareholders of $506.5 million in the first nine months of 2017 on revenue of $1.07 billion.
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