Pandora reportedly prepping September launch of Spotify competitor

That’s right. Over the previous months, Pandora has been quietly negotiating with a slew of record labels to build an on-demand streaming service that would pit it against the current big dogs in that field: Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company is reaching the end of finalizing these agreements, so Pandora’s subscription service is likely coming soon.

We’ve known that Pandora had an interest in this endeavor for quite some time now. Even if the company hadn’t have bought out Rdio last year, the writing is on the wall for specialized radio services. People are coming to expect curated playlists and custom music libraries to house their collections.

Although some are dubious of Pandora’s ability to catch up after spending this long outside of the full library subscription model, they may be forgetting that the musical old timer has a hefty audience of users who are still on its free-with-ads model, meaning they have an excellent megaphone to get the attention of potential subscribers.

What do you think of Pandora’s upcoming foray into the big leagues? Will they be able to match the competition, or are they doomed to follow the likes of Rdio? Let us know your take in the comments below!