Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Description Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies

 v2.3.0.11
Description Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies
6 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2011
Description Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies  
Description Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies
1.        Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Pandora Media, Inc. (the "Company" or "Pandora") provides an internet radio service in the United States, offering a personalized experience for each of its listeners. The Company has developed a form of radio that uses intrinsic qualities of music to initially create stations that then adapt playlists in real-time based on the individual feedback of each listener.

The Company was incorporated in the State of California in January 2000 as TheSavageBeast.com, Inc. and changed its name in May 2000 to Savage Beast Technologies Incorporated. In July 2005, the Company changed its name to Pandora Media, Inc. In December 2010, it became a Delaware corporation by way of a merger with and into a wholly owned Delaware subsidiary, with the Delaware subsidiary remaining as the surviving corporation with the name Pandora Media, Inc. following the merger.

Initial Public Offering

In June 2011, the Company completed its initial public offering ("IPO") whereby 14,684,000 shares of common stock were sold to the public at a price of $16.00 per share. The Company sold 6,000,682 common shares and selling stockholders sold 8,683,318 common shares. In July 2011, in connection with the exercise of the underwriters' overallotment option, 350,000 additional shares of common stock were sold to the public at the initial offering price of $16.00 per share. The Company received aggregate proceeds of $94.5 million from the initial public offering and the underwriter overallotment option, net of underwriters' discounts and commissions but before deducting offering expenses of $3.6 million. Upon the closing of the IPO, all shares of the Company's outstanding redeemable convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 137,542,912 shares of common stock and outstanding warrants to purchase redeemable convertible preferred stock automatically converted into warrants to purchase 154,938 shares of common stock.

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"). The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Pandora Media, Inc. and the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary located in the Cayman Islands. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In the opinion of the Company's management, the condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the Company's financial position for the periods presented. These interim financial results are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or for any subsequent interim period.

These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes included in the Company's prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended on June 15, 2011.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the related disclosures at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. Estimates are used for the allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation, fair values of financial instruments, fair values of stock awards issued, and income taxes. To the extent there are material differences between these estimates, judgments, or assumptions and actual results, the Company's financial statements will be affected. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP and does not require management's judgment in its application. There are also areas in which management's judgment in selecting among available alternatives would not produce a materially different result.

 

Segments

The Company operates in one segment. The Company's chief operating decision maker (the "CODM"), its Chief Executive Officer, manages the Company's operations on a consolidated basis for purposes of allocating resources. When evaluating the Company's financial performance, the CODM reviews separate revenue information for the Company's advertising, subscription services and other offerings, while all other financial information is reviewed on a consolidated basis. All of the Company's principal operations and decision-making functions are located in the United States.

   Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade accounts receivable. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents with domestic financial institutions of high credit quality. The Company performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of all of such institutions.

The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of customers to assess the probability of accounts receivable collection based on a number of factors, including past transaction experience with the customer, evaluation of their credit history, and review of the invoicing terms of the contract. The Company generally does not require collateral. The Company maintains reserves for potential credit losses on customer accounts when deemed necessary. Actual credit losses during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 and the six months ended July 31, 2011 were not significant.

For the three months ended July 31, 2010, the Company had no customers that accounted for 10% or more of total revenue. For the six months ended July 31, 2010 the Company had one customer that accounted for 10% of the Company's total revenue. For the three and six months ended July 31, 2011, the Company had one customer that accounted for 16% and 14%, respectively of the Company's total revenue.

As of January 31 and July 31, 2011 there were no customers that accounted for 10% or more of the Company's total accounts receivable.

   Revenue Recognition

The Company's revenue is principally derived from advertising services and subscription fees.

The Company recognizes revenue when: (1) persuasive evidence exists of an arrangement with the customer reflecting the terms and conditions under which products or services will be provided; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been provided; (3) the fee is fixed or determinable; and (4) collection is reasonably assured. For all revenue transactions, the Company considers a signed agreement, a binding insertion order or other similar documentation to be persuasive evidence of an arrangement.

Advertising Revenue. The Company generates advertising revenue primarily from display, audio and video advertising. The Company generates the majority of its advertising revenue through the delivery of advertising impressions sold on a cost per thousand, or CPM, basis. In determining whether an arrangement exists, the Company ensures that a binding arrangement, such as an insertion order or a fully executed customer-specific agreement, is in place. The Company generally recognizes revenue based on delivery information from its campaign trafficking systems. In addition, the Company generates a small amount of referral revenue from performance-based arrangements, which may include the listener performing some action such as clicking on an advertisement and signing up for a membership with that advertiser. The Company records revenue from these performance-based actions when it receives third-party verification reports supporting the number of actions performed in the period. The Company generally has audit rights to the underlying data summarized in these reports.

The Company also generates advertising revenue pursuant to arrangements with advertising agencies and brokers. Under these arrangements, the Company provides the agencies and brokers the ability to sell advertising inventory on the Company's service directly to advertisers. The Company reports this revenue net of amounts due to agencies and brokers because the Company is not the primary obligor under these arrangements, the Company does not set the pricing, and does not establish or maintain the relationship with the advertisers.

 

Subscription and Other Revenue. The Company generates subscription services revenue through the sale of access to a premium version of Pandora internet radio. Subscription revenue is also generated from usage-based fees when a listener who does not have access to a premium version of the Pandora service reaches a maximum number of listening hours on traditional computers in a given month. The listener is required to pay a nominal fee to continue the advertising-supported listening experience on traditional computers for the remainder of the month. Subscription revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the subscription period.

Deferred Revenue. Deferred revenue consists of both prepaid but unrecognized subscription revenue and advertising fees received or billed in advance of the delivery or completion of the services or in instances when revenue recognition criteria have not been met. Deferred revenue is recognized when the services are provided and all revenue recognition criteria have been met.

Multiple-Element Arrangements. The Company enters into arrangements with customers to sell advertising packages that include different media placements or ad services that are delivered at the same time, or within close proximity of one another.

For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011, because the Company had not yet established the fair value for each element and the Company's agreements contained mid-campaign cancellation clauses, advertising sales revenue was recognized as the lesser of (1) revenue calculated on a time-based straight-line basis over the term of the contract, (2) revenue calculated on a proportional performance basis, based on an average CPM rate for the entire campaign multiplied by the number of impressions delivered to date, and (3) revenue earned on the delivered media and price as specified on the applicable insertion order.

Beginning on February 1, 2011, the Company adopted new authoritative guidance on multiple element arrangements, using the prospective method for all arrangements entered into or materially modified from the date of adoption. Under this new guidance, the Company allocates arrangement consideration in multiple-deliverable revenue arrangements at the inception of an arrangement to all deliverables or those packages in which all components of the package are delivered at the same time, based on the relative selling price method in accordance with the selling price hierarchy, which includes: (1) vendor-specific objective evidence ("VSOE") if available; (2) third-party evidence ("TPE") if VSOE is not available; and (3) best estimate of selling price ("BESP") if neither VSOE nor TPE is available.

VSOE. The Company determines VSOE based on its historical pricing and discounting practices for the specific product or service when sold separately. In determining VSOE, the Company requires that a substantial majority of the selling prices for these services fall within a reasonably narrow pricing range. The Company has not historically priced its advertising products within a narrow range. As a result, the Company has not been able to establish VSOE for any of its advertising products.

TPE. When VSOE cannot be established for deliverables in multiple element arrangements, the Company applies judgment with respect to whether it can establish a selling price based on TPE. TPE is determined based on competitor prices for similar deliverables when sold separately. Generally, the Company's go-to-market strategy differs from that of its peers and its offerings contain a significant level of differentiation such that the comparable pricing of services cannot be obtained. Furthermore, the Company is unable to reliably determine what similar competitor services' selling prices are on a stand-alone basis. As a result, the Company has not been able to establish selling price based on TPE.

BESP. When it is unable to establish selling price using VSOE or TPE, the Company uses BESP in its allocation of arrangement consideration. The objective of BESP is to determine the price at which the Company would transact a sale if the service were sold on a stand-alone basis. BESP is generally used to allocate the selling price to deliverables in the Company's multiple element arrangements. The Company determines BESP for deliverables by considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, prices it charges for similar offerings,

market conditions, competitive landscape and pricing practices. The Company limits the amount of allocable arrangement consideration to amounts that are fixed or determinable and that are not contingent on future performance or future deliverables. The Company will regularly review BESP. Changes in assumptions or judgments or changes to the elements in the arrangement could cause a material increase or decrease in the amount of revenue that the Company reports in a particular period.

The Company recognizes the relative fair value of the media placements or ad services as they are delivered assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

  Fair Value Measurements of Financial Instruments

The Company records cash equivalents and preferred stock warrant liability at fair value.

Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. Fair value measurements are required to be disclosed by level within the following fair value hierarchy:

Level 1 – Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.

Level 2 – Inputs (other than quoted prices included in Level 1) are either directly or indirectly observable for the asset or liability through correlation with market data at the measurement date and for the duration of the instrument's anticipated life.

Level 3 – Inputs reflect management's best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date. Consideration is given to the risk inherent in the valuation technique and the risk inherent in the inputs to the model.

When determining fair value, whenever possible the Company uses observable market data, and relies on unobservable inputs only when observable market data is not available. On a recurring basis, the Company measures at fair value certain financial assets and liabilities, which consist of cash equivalents.

The Company's cash equivalents are classified as Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued primarily using quoted market prices, or alternative pricing sources and models utilizing market observable inputs with reasonable levels of price transparency.

 

The fair value of these financial assets and liabilities was determined using the following inputs at January 31 and July 31, 2011:

 

     Fair Value Measurement Using      Total  
     Quoted Prices in
Active Markets
for Identical
Instruments
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
    
     (in thousands)  

Fair values as of January 31, 2011

           

Assets:

           

Money market funds

   $ 38,074       $ —         $ —         $ 38,074   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets measured at fair value

   $ 38,074       $ —         $ —         $ 38,074   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities:

           

Preferred stock warrants

   $ —         $ —         $ 1,027       $ 1,027   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities measured at fair value

   $ —         $ —         $ 1,027       $ 1,027   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Fair values as of July 31, 2011

           

Assets:

           

Money market funds

   $ 86,250       $ —         $ —         $ 86,250   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets measured at fair value

   $ 86,250       $ —         $ —         $ 86,250   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The Company's preferred stock warrants were categorized as Level 3 because they were valued based on unobservable inputs and management's judgment due to the absence of quoted market prices, inherent lack of liquidity and the long-term nature of such financial instruments. These assumptions are inherently subjective and involve significant management judgment.

The Company performed a fair value assessment of the preferred stock warrant inputs at the end of each reporting period. The fair value of the preferred stock warrant liability was estimated using an enterprise value option pricing model.

 

Any change in fair value is recognized as a component of other expense, net, on the statements of operations. These warrants to purchase redeemable convertible preferred stock were converted into warrants to purchase shares of common stock at the applicable conversion rate for the related convertible preferred stock upon the closing of the Company's IPO on June 20, 2011. The warrants were revalued upon the closing of the IPO using an option pricing model. As such, as of July 31, 2011 the redeemable convertible preferred stock warrant liability is zero.

The following table presents a reconciliation for the preferred stock warrants measured and recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the three and six months ended July 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

     Three Months
Ended July 31,
    Six Months
Ended July 31,
 
     2010      2011     2010     2011  

Beginning balance

   $ 267       $ 2,550      $ 300      $ 1,027   

Remeasurement of preferred stock warrants

     760        2,976       869        4,499   

Exercise of preferred stock warrants

     —           (3,374 )     (142     (3,374

Conversion of preferred stock warrants to common stock warrants

     —           (2,152     —          (2,152
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ending balance

   $ 1,027       $ —        $ 1,027      $ —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Preferred Stock Warrant

Prior to the Company's IPO, warrants to purchase the Company's redeemable convertible preferred stock were classified as liabilities on the Company's balance sheet. The Company remeasured the fair value of these warrants at each balance sheet date and any changes in fair value were recognized as a component of other income (expense) in the Company's statements of operations. The Company performed the final remeasurement of the warrants at the closing date of the IPO and recorded an expense of $3.0 million arising from the revaluation.

The Company estimated the fair value of these warrants using an option valuation model, which included the estimated fair value of the underlying preferred stock at the valuation measurement date, the remaining contractual term of the warrant, risk-free interest rates, and expected dividends on and expected volatility of the price of the underlying preferred stock. The Company recorded losses of approximately $0.8, $0.9 million, $3.0 million, and $4.5 million arising from the revaluation of the convertible preferred stock warrant liability for the three and six months ended July 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In October 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2009-13 regarding Accounting Standard Codification ("ASC") Subtopic 605-25, Revenue Recognition – Multiple-element Arrangements. This ASU addresses criteria for separating the consideration in multiple-element arrangements. ASU 2009-13 requires companies to allocate the overall consideration to each deliverable by using a BESP of individual deliverables in the arrangement in the absence of VSOE or other TPE of the selling price. The changes under ASU 2009-13 are effective prospectively for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified subsequent to adoption. The Company adopted the changes under ASU 2009-13 effective February 1, 2011. Under the previous accounting guidance, the Company treated its multiple element arrangements as a single unit of accounting as the Company generally did not have evidence of fair value for its undelivered elements. Under the new guidance, the Company will use BESP when neither VSOE nor TPE are available. As a result, the Company is able to recognize the relative fair value of the elements as they are delivered, assuming other revenue recognition criteria are met. As a result of implementing ASU 2009-13, the Company recognized $2.7 million and $4.3 million as revenue in the three and six months ended July 31, 2011, respectively, that would have been deferred under the previous guidance for multiple element arrangements.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04 regarding ASC Topic 820 "Fair Value Measurement." This ASU updates accounting guidance to clarify how to measure fair value to align the guidance surrounding Fair Value Measurement within GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. In addition, the ASU updates certain requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosure around fair value measurement. It does not require additional fair value measurements and the ASU was not intended to establish valuation standards or affect valuation practices outside of financial reporting. This ASU will be effective for the Company's fiscal year beginning February 1, 2012. Early adoption is not permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, "Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income". This ASU amends the ASC to allow an entity the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. In both choices an entity is required to present each component of net income along with total net income, each component of other comprehensive income along with a total for other comprehensive income, and a total amount for comprehensive income. ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. The amendments to the ASC in the ASU do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income. ASU 2011-05 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.