Pandora No Longer Available in Australia

If you’re wondering why you can’t access your favourite Pandora playlist this morning, we have some bad news. As of Monday July 31st, popular music streaming service Pandora will no longer be available to listeners in Australia or New Zealand. After five years of discovering new music, approximately 5 million Australasians will no longer have access to the free service. Instead, they will hear the following message: “We’re honored to have connected so many listeners with the music they love these past few years. Thank you for your loyalty and the opportunity to serve you.”

The unexpected closure of the successful streaming service has been met with criticism from Australian listeners, mainly due to Pandora’s reasoning for locking so many loyal listeners out of the loop. The internet radio service will no longer broadcast in Australia, due to the service wanting to shift its focus exclusively to the American market. This bizarre, cost-cutting initiative will inevitably have a detrimental effect on Pandora’s global active monthly listener count, which was last reported at 76.7 million.

For those who have a paid Pandora Plus subscription, regardless of whether the subscription was purchased directly from the Pandora website, Apple iTunes or Google Play, their accounts will be automatically cancelled and refunds will be automatically issued. While Australians will still have access to alternative streaming options, like Spotify, Apple Music and iHeartRadio, it seems the service is taking a step in the wrong direction by locking such a large number of music lovers out of the Pandorasphere.