Pandora Rebrands Mobile App Ahead of On-Demand Music Service Launch

[MacRumors]

Online radio service Pandora today announced a rebranding of its iOS and Android apps, complete with a new logo that includes a "vibrant and bold color scheme" that the company says will showcase "the next phase of the product and the music experiences Pandora brings you." The app's icon has transitioned from a gray background with a navy blue "P" to an all-white background a lighter, bolder "P." It's also shifted from an uppercase to a lowercase font choice for "Pandora."

The old Pandora logo (left) and the new one (right)​

The company's aim with the updated brand scheme is to introduce an aesthetic that "embraces the dynamic range of sound and color," so the logo can adapt to any musician, song, or genre available on Pandora. The new P icon is said to serve as the user's "portal" into the streaming radio service and its new ad-free subscription service Pandora Plus. Pandora also created a video to showcase its new brand.

Music is a personal experience for everyone, from the artists creating it all the way to the fans listening to it. And as Pandora continues to evolve the most personal music experience, our new look embraces the dynamic range of sound and color, visualizing the energy and emotion that artists pour into the creation of music, and that we feel as listeners. Our dynamic brand is composed of form, color and pattern, which we implemented into the new P icon and serves as your portal into the unique and diverse range of music you love.

The rebranding comes ahead of Pandora's impending on-demand music listening service, which CEO Tim Westergren has confirmed will arrive "later this year." The service is believed to cost $9.99 and offer users the ability to listen to any song and musician they want, create playlists, and various other features, all putting it in the competitive music streaming category alongside Apple Music and Spotify.

Amazon today also entered the on-demand music streaming space with Music Unlimited, which grants users access to tens of millions of songs and costs $9.99 per month (or $7.99 for Amazon Prime subscribers). If users have an Amazon Echo, they can also subscribe to an Echo-only $3.99 streaming option.

For Pandora, the company mentioned that the rebranding will begin to rollout to iOS and Android users throughout today, "whether you listen to ad-supported Pandora or Pandora Plus." The new look will then make it to the desktop, web, and other devices "over the year."

Article Link: Pandora Rebrands Mobile App Ahead of On-Demand Music Service Launch

 

[canadianreader]

It looks like PayPal inverted

 

[LordQ]

It looks like PayPal inverted

Damn, 1 minute late!

Who approved that ugliness?

 

[JohnnyApple$eed]

2nd ugliest redesign for a logo next to winner Instagram.

 

[CCCowley]

Pandroida

 

[nagromme]

I do like the new logo. It will encourage people to keep their screen turned off and save battery.

Just keep the ability to bookmark songs for possible later purchase from iTunes/wherever! Every Pandora update I worry about that.

That's how I discover most of the iTunes music I buy, and it's how Pandora makes most of the money they get from me (the rest would be ads).

It drives me crazy that they removed that from the Web version. I hear a song or artist I might like to buy later, but Pandora doesn't want the commission? And thumbs-up is very much not the same: it changes the mix of your station. Bookmarked tracks are simply that--bookmarked to check out later. And often I want to investigate that artist in general, not boost that one track.

 

[deeddawg]

Ugly font and stupid logo.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

Wow, they went to a sans serif lower case font for their logo. NO ONE'S EVER DONE THAT BEFORE.

Anyway I don't really care that much, but all these "minimalist" modern logos look exactly the same...

 

[firewire9000]

Hello PayPal!

 

[Return Zero]

Wow, it's sooo dynamic... this really makes me want to use Pandora again! /s

EDIT: Kudos to Apple for having one logo, and sticking with it for eternity (colors notwithstanding). It's not easy, and I find it commendable.

 

[Whimseh]

And I'm still staying with the best service, Spotify.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Ugly font and stupid logo.

Yep.

This is part of the trouble when management throw money at things like this for months on end. Daily meetings, full of fat cats jerking each other off at the table, exchanging 'ideas' and knocking up spreadsheets about the psychological impact of different hues.

Overworked, underpaid graphic designers, getting it in the neck when their latest drafts (outdated by 4 meetings they weren't consulted in) doesn't quite suit the "ethos" of the company.

All this time and effort, until the management are eventually convinced that what they've 'created' is something truly awe-inspiring and brands the company in a way that the old thing never could; forgetting that it's just a bloomin' logo. Plus it looks ugly as poop too. It's all hot air.

(Oops, that got a little personal. I'm not even sure if I'm talking about Pandora any more)

 

[xero9]

Haven't listened to Pandora in years as I got sick of using a VPN every time I wanted to listen in the car. Just went to pandora.com and it seems to work internationally now, or at least in Canada. Interesting!

 

[asleep]

It's a "P"

 

[Mr. Donahue]

Totally looks like the PayPal logo

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Kudos to Apple for having one logo, and sticking with it for eternity (colors notwithstanding). It's not easy, and I find it commendable.

Not quite. They used this as their logo for the first few months before switching to the rainbow Apple:

(From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.#Logo )

I kind of want to get an iPhone case with this on the backside or something.

Also... I think lots of companies have stuck with their logos for a long time. Blizzard Entertainment has been using the same logo through their whole 22 years.

Nintendo has been using their logo since 1975... so for 41 years. Longer than Apple. But Nintendo is also over 100 years old.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Who would subscribe to a Pandora run on-demand service? They have the smallest catalog of music by far. For the same price you can have Apple Music or Spotify. Who says, "There's too much selection. I want less music." and goes with Pandora?

 

[Sirious]

Nice new logo and branding. We don't have Pandora in the UK though.

 

[xero9]

Nice new logo and branding. We don't have Pandora in the UK though.

Have you tried visiting their site on your computer? It didn't work in Canada before, but it seems to now.

 

[jasonkratz]

And I'm still staying with the best service, Spotify.

Hard to judge a service that isn't available yet but so typical of commenters on the internet. I'd point out Spotify is the best service for you. Certainly isn't the best for me.

 

[coolfactor]

Everyone is echoing my same thoughts — that iOS icon reminds me of PayPal first. And the colours don't even match between the full logo and the icon. Who approves this stuff?

 

[Return Zero]

Not quite. They used this as their logo for the first few months before switching to the rainbow Apple:

(From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.#Logo )

I kind of want to get an iPhone case with this on the backside or something.

Also... I think lots of companies have stuck with their logos for a long time. Blizzard Entertainment has been using the same logo through their whole 22 years.

Nintendo has been using their logo since 1975... so for 41 years. Longer than Apple. But Nintendo is also over 100 years old.

I knew someone would bring that ghastly thing up! Ha. That would be sweet on a case, if you launch a kickstarter I'll back it Anyway, that was so short lived... I would consider it more like a coat of arms than a logo.

True, many companies' logos have remained fundamentally unchanged (some of the strongest brands, predictably). Considering its simplicity (100% text-free!) and adaptability (100% color-independent!), I think Apple's passes the likes of McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Mercedes, and many other great ones as the most iconic logo of all time... maybe tied with Nike IMO.

Edit: grammar.

 

[Release]

Who would subscribe to a Pandora run on-demand service? They have the smallest catalog of music by far. For the same price you can have Apple Music or Spotify. Who says, "There's too much selection. I want less music." and goes with Pandora?

I have subscriptions to both Pandora and Spotify.

If I just want to listen to random "radio", Pandora is MUCH better that the stations on Spotify/Apple/Amazon. The "radio" stations on the big on-demand platforms are much more predictable and obvious (same songs over and over etc.). I like that I can modify the stations a bit with Pandora.

But other than that, Spotify destroys it but both have their place IMO.

 

[T-Friz]

The new icon does look like PayPal, but the new font is a lot cleaner, more modern and will probably look better on mobile screens

 

[Bromeo]

Wow it does look like the PayPal icon and the Android logo. Anyone watch the video? Annoying sounds. Could make for a good "get out of bed... NOW!" alarm.

I have both Pandora and Apple Music subs. Both fill different needs. Pandora is better at finely tuned stations for non-stop music. Even within a station, it does a great job of having music relate, track-to-track. For this they are commendable.

Apple Music sometimes frustrates me with their radio stations. Nowhere near as tuned as Pandora, but the playlists are interesting and it's great to listen to an entire album.