Can Google Convince YouTube Users to Pay?

Pandora (NYSE:P) claims to have an 8.03 percent share of radio listening time in the United States, yet the company has only a 3 percent share of the $14 billion U.S. radio advertising market, a major operating problem if Google’s YouTube launches a subscription music service later this year as rumors have indicated.

In a press release circulated on Monday, Pandora announced that its audience data will appear in the three most popular media buying platforms — STRATA, Mediaocean’s Donovan, and Mediabank. Now, the company’s music-streaming service will finally compete directly with radio stations on the industry’s biggest advertising services, which will give Pandora better access to the advertising market.

Previously, ad buyers had to manually find Pandora’s ratings, but with these changes, the company will be exposed to a much larger group of marketers. But only time will show whether this change will be enough to make Pandora’s service viable over the long term, especially when the increasingly competitive industry is taken into consideration.