You could discover a song on Pandora, search for more by the artist on Spotify, and get context from satellite radio DJs, or do it all in one place with Slacker. After hitting 4 million monthly users and 500,000 paid subscribers, Slacker on Wednesday unveils a big redesign for its site, apps, and car integrations. It wants to claw mainstream users away from competitors with a “complete music service”. Slacker has been, well, slacking. Despite launching in 2007 and offering a winning combo of customizable radio, on-demand streaming, and human DJ’d stations, it’s way behind the pack. Spotify recently hit 20 million users and 5 million paying customers, Sirius XM satellite radio has around 24 million paid subscribers, and Pandora has over 175 million listeners. Most people couldn’t even tell you what Slacker is.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.