Pandora tried to become more like Spotify and now it's bleeding users

Pandora is trying to reinvent itself as more than free internet radio. But subscriptions come with a price.

Pandora has been losing users with each earnings report, at 73.7 million active listeners this quarter compared to 78.1 million this time two years ago.

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The 4.4 million dropoff in users comes as Pandora tries to make itself a player in the on-demand music streaming wars, up against Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest.

This quarter, Pandora touted that its total paid subscribers were up 29 percent year-over-year to 5.19 million. For comparison, Spotify has 60 million subscribers and Apple Music has about 30 million. Pandora's subscriptions brought in $84.4 million in revenue.

“After just a short time here at Pandora, it’s clear to me we have a tremendous opportunity to meet the full spectrum of our listeners' and advertisers’ needs,” Pandora CEO Roger Lynch said in a statement. “We have significant scale, distribution and products that deliver a superior listening experience. We will leverage these strengths to become a more integral part of our listeners’ lives and reinforce our position as the definitive source for audio advertising.”