Yandex Shares Dropping Despite Launch Of New Music Player

Shares of Yandex NV YNDX fell more than 2.3 percent on Thursday morning, following the launch of the company’s new media player service Yandex.Radio.

The concept is quite simple: Much like Pandora Media Inc P, Yandex.Radio offers more than 100 channels that classify music by genre, activity and even mood.

The service can be accessed online, via most Internet browsers, at radio.yandex.ru, and through a mobile app available for iOS and Android. To keep the service free, Yandex.Radio features audio advertising within the streams, just like Spotify’s free option.

The new service comes to complement another preexisting -- paid -- called Yandex.Music, Head of Music Services Konstantin Vorontsov explained. “Yandex.Music allows users to discover something new, while Yandex.Radio provides tracks to suit any situation...Yandex.Radio is what one needs when they aren't looking for something specific, but simply want music that would suit their mood – whether they want to unwind, or get an energy boost.”

Taking On Goliath?

Now, it looks like the Russian search behemoth is looking to take on not only Pandora, but also Apple Inc. AAPL.

Rumor has it that Russia will be one of the first countries to receive Apple's soon-to-be-released on-demand music streaming service.