Pandora Limits Free Mobile Listening to 40 Hours Per Month

[LostMyiPhone]

Originally Posted by BigJohno

So im paying for something and I can't listen to it unlimited... Looks like i'm not going to reup my payment.

free

[ free ]

1.costing nothing: requiring no money to be paid

Sad thing is this got 4 upvotes...

[Amazing Iceman]

Originally Posted by marsmissions

The majority of listeners are mobile listeners, not desktop listeners.

Regardless, royalty charges do apply the same whether it's mobile or desktop.

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Originally Posted by jayducharme

That was my first question as well. If the rates are for streaming music, why are desktop users exempt?

Thinking about it, maybe they don't have a way to track desktop listening without infringing some privacy laws. And because an app is used for mobile devices, it's easier for them to track usage.

I wonder if the Pandora login account helps them with the tracking, as it should also help them track desktop usage.

[rdlink]

Originally Posted by Primejimbo

I just said I didn't use any of that stuff (Spotify, Pandora, and others) I just have my iPod and plug it in my car and use that. So why would I care if Spotify is free or not?

OK, I misunderstood your post. The person you responded to was saying they didn't use Pandora. I thought you said the same thing. Sorry.

[lordofthereef]

The commenters on this site have gotten quite ridiculous. A person isn't happy with being charged money on top of having to listen to ads, and they are called out for being a whiny cheap arse. Really? People are responding with "who cares what you think?" It's a thread about a specific topic... of course people are going to share their opinions about said topic. Instead we have a bunch of internet warriors who, behind the anonymity of their MACSUPERFANRIPSTEVEJOBS username decide to troll those that want to discuss why they are happy/unhappy with certain decisions a company makes and potential alternatives to a service.

For me, it's not about the extra couple of bucks, although with everyone raising prices "just a couple of bucks" here and there, it certainly adds up fast. I have very recently stopped listening to Pandora because during my daily 30-45 minute run I will get 5-8 ads. And I am talking 30-60 second ads. This can make up 20% of my listening. To add insult to injury, if I skip a couple songs in a row, it will take me right back to an ad, even if I just got done listening to one. If the issue is that Pandora's bottom line is too high, that is unfortunate, but that doesn't change the fact that, for me, the experience has dropped off in quality vastly.

Now if I wanted to continue using the service, and I used it for 40+ hours a week, I am told I have to pay. Another $4 gets rid of the ads (might I point out that we are approaching the monthly cost of streaming video content now?), but it does not let me skip as many times as I want. At that point, I may as well reach for a handful of other services that, for around $10, give me unlimited streaming, skips, AND I can actually pick the songs I want to listen to (if I want), rather than only get a random mix.

Perhaps Pandora's issue is that they aren't pulling in enough ads. Remember how I told you I was getting up to eight ads in a 45 minute timespan? I would hear the same (or similar) ads at least two times during that block of time. I can almost recite the Kum & Go (gas station chain in the midwest) ads for soda that kept repeating. It was like a broken record. Furthermore, we don't even live in the midwest anymore (we relocated eight months ago) and are nowhere near these places that are advertising to us, yet Pandora's system doesn't seem to be smart enough to pick up on that. This is a wasted ad impression, and I am sure the companies putting out these ads are aware of it, hence paying less than top dollar. The irony here is that ad impressions really could be tailored alms to the individual by location. Instead, they are tailored worse than standard radio.

[charlien]

I've been considering upgrading my Pandora account for a while now. This reminded me to do it. And I'm loving it. $3.99/monthly is peanuts for so much enjoyment. You complainers should learn to play a musical instrument and entertain yourselves for free.

[komodrone]

Originally Posted by rwilliams

Spotify's free mobile radio is much, much better than Pandora.

I don't even use the radio feature. I listen to what I want.

[thermodynamic]

Free?

I don't use Pandora, and freely admit my ignorance on the MO on the company's part, but how many ads does it roll out for users that pay no $$$ upfront?

Does anyone have to sign up for an account, even for free access? (In which case, you can bet real money they're selling your info, which can be far more valuable than a piece of metal or a piece of paper. So it's anything BUT free...)

How much government subsidy money do they take? And do they have any lobbyist influence fettering our government with to get freebies at our expense?

[Tech198]

Not for long I'm already ready to try and over-come something "fresh'

[Benguitar]

Oddly enough, I use Pandora on my computer or xbox the most, I rarely use it on any mobile device.

[unigolyn]

Pandora's algorithms are much better than Spotify's, however Spotify is massively better for me because all I need to do is hit thumbs up on a song that comes on, and it's permanently on my Liked From Radio playlist, where I can replay it on my desktop client whenever I want.

40 free hours on mobile is more than generous enough, unless your only computer is a tablet.

[Mac52]

When Pandora put in the time limit, I found a great music app called Raditaz. It has over 20m songs, no ads and it's free. It blows pandora away.

[Jimbo47]

Spotify FTW