Pandora [3]'s CEO Joe Kennedy [4] will step down, the Internet music company [5] announced today. Kennedy, who joined the company in 2004 following a five-year stint at E-LOAN, will stay on until a replacement for him is named, the company said.

"As I near the start of my tenth year at the helm of Pandora, I am incredibly proud of the team and what we have accomplished in redefining radio," Kennedy said in a statement. "As part of our Board discussions of the road that lies ahead, I reached the conclusion and advised the Board that the time is right to begin a process to identify my successor.

“There is a tremendous market opportunity ahead and I look forward to continuing to work with all the great people at Pandora to keep driving the business forward.”

The announcement came shortly after Pandora issued its earnings report, which sent the company's stock rising in after-hours trading, the Wall Street Journal reported [6].

The earnings report showed the company had increased ad revenue 51% since the fourth quarter of 2011 and had, not surprisingly, increased its subscription and other revenue by 74% since that time. But as The Verge points out, it wasn't all good news this year for the start-up: Pandora lost 9 cents per share and 23 cents per share for the year on a GAAP basis last year. [7]

[Photo by Flickr user Jdlasica [8]]