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Pandora's on-demand music now streams on Alexa devices
Amazon Alexa's repertoire of on-demand music services appears to be growing by the day. Hot on the heels of Tidal's support, Pandora has enabled Premium streaming on Alexa-equipped devices like Amazon's Echo speakers. You no longer have to be content with Pandora's radio feature -- you can access your playlists and play albums like you would anywhere else. You can set the service as your default music option as well. It's not quite complete when Personalized Soundtracks support is "coming soon," but you otherwise won't be hurting for choice.
Pandora's podcast recommendation engine launches in beta today
Pandora made its interest in podcasting clear several times this year. Now, the music-streaming company is ready to announce the "Podcast Genome Project," a tool that's both a cataloging system and recommendation algorithm for spoken audio programs. Much like the company's existing Music Genome Project, which categorizes music on hundreds of characteristics to make recommendations to listeners, the Podcast Genome Project (which I'm now abbreviating to PGP). uses both human curation and scanning technology to help users discover podcasts. As of today, the PGP is in public beta.
Waze adds built-in audio player to spice up your commute
You won't have to use Google Maps if you want a built-in music player to accompany Google's navigation tools. In the wake of a Spotify tie-in last year, Waze has released beta versions of its Android and iOS apps with a native audio player that supports eight services in total. Deezer, iHeart Radio, NPR One, Pandora, Scribd, Stitcher and TuneIn are now available alongside Spotify to give you a choice of listening material for your commute. Not every app is available on every platform (you can use TuneIn only on Android, for example, while Deezer only works on iOS), but you only need to sync Waze with a third-party app to have access to familiar tunes on your next drive.
SiriusXM acquires Pandora for $3.5 billion
Pandora's search for a buyer is over. SiriusXM, which previously invested $480 million in the music streaming service, is now acquiring it outright in an all-stock deal worth $3.5 billion. It gives the satellite radio company access to Pandora's 70 million monthly users, including the 5.6 million paying members signed up to its Premium service.
Pandora's customized new music playlist 'The Drop' arrives today
If you ask Spotify users why they're loyal to the music service, chances are many of them will cite personalized new music playlists like Discover Weekly and New Release Radar. Today, Pandora is releasing a similar playlist for its Premium on-demand users: it's called "The Drop," and it's a custom playlist that features newly-released tracks selected based on a user's listening history over time. Pandora says the playlist will automatically show up in Premium users' libraries with around a dozen songs to start with, but it'll be continuously updated over time as new songs are released.
All Pandora users can now share tunes on Snapchat
Pandora thinks it has a way to thrust its not-so-dominant Premium music service into the public consciousness: hooking into a social network that's also fighting for relevance. Premium subscribers can now share songs, stations and whole playlists as Snapchat cards, whether they're headed to Stories or directly to friends. You were previously limited to using a free or Plus membership, and in a much less sophisticated fashion to boot. And yes, Pandora is fully aware that your friends probably don't use the service. If they aren't Premium members (but live in the US), they can listen to half an hour of uninterrupted tunes so long as they're willing to watch a 30-second ad.
T-Mobile tackles lousy customer service with 'Team of Experts'
It's no secret that a lot of carrier tech support is lousy. It's not just that you have to wade through menus -- it's that you're often pushed between support agents who only have the foggiest idea of your service history and are encouraged to get you off the phone quickly. T-Mobile thinks it can do better. It's launching a "Team of Experts" initiative that's meant to get you in touch with people who can actually deal with your problems instead of passing the buck.
Google Assistant can play songs from Pandora Premium
Pandora's Plus and ad-supported users have been able to listen using Google Home for almost two years, and the streaming service is now meshing more tightly with Google Assistant. Starting today, Premium listeners can use their voice to play on-demand tunes and playlists on devices with the assistant baked in, including Google's smart speakers and third-party devices.
Pandora will use its music discovery skills to recommend podcasts
For years, Pandora has been breaking down songs into all sorts of different characteristics in order to personalize listening experiences to each user, and now it's applying that treatment to podcasts. Pandora CEO Roger Lynch said earlier this year that he wanted to develop a podcast version of the company's Music Genome Project and he recently shared some details about that work on The Verge's Converge podcast.
iHeartRadio adds Spotify-like personalized playlists
iHeartRadio announced today that it's adding a new playlist for users to stream -- a weekly updated selection of tunes based on what you listen to. Your Weekly Mixtape will be refreshed every Monday and will include 30 to 75 songs chosen for you based on the stations and artists you listen to and the tracks you give a thumbs up. It sounds an awful lot like Spotify's Discover Weekly, even down to the day it's released. But iHeartRadio's chief product officer, Chris Williams, told CNET that there is a difference between the two.
Pandora users can share music to their Snapchat stories
Last month, Snap opened up its AR camera, Bitmoji and more for use within third-party apps. Pandora was one of the first to announce its partnership, and now the music streaming service is all set for its users to start sharing in Snapchat Stories.
Pandora and iHeartRadio paid streams now count on Billboard charts
Billboard may give more weight to paid streams than the free variety in its music charts, but it isn't playing favorites. The industry publication will count subscription streams from Pandora and iHeartRadio toward rankings in its Hot 100, Billboard 200, Streaming Songs and genre-specific charts. They'll have an effect starting with the rankings on July 14th (covering streams between June 29th and July 5th). iHeartRadio's terrestrial and programmed radio stations won't affect the data.
Snapchat lets third-party apps use its AR camera, Bitmoji and more
Snap is bringing the walls of its closed gardens tumbling down, as it's opened up a rumored developer platform to let third-party creators use Snapchat features in other apps, and bring their own tools to Snapchat. Off the bat, that means you'll start to see Bitmoji in Tinder, and dynamic Postmates stickers that tell you when your order should arrive. Other apps that will use Snapchat features at the outset include Poshmark, Quip, Eventbrite, Giphy, Pandora, Bands in Town, Patreon and SoundHound, The Verge reports.
Pandora unveils a $15-a-month unlimited family plan
The streaming business is a tough game, especially if your company isn't called Spotify or Apple Music. Mid-tier player Pandora recently announced it had signed up six million subscribers so far compared to 75 million for Spotify, but it's trying to boost that number with a new Premium Family plan. It offers unlimited streaming with no ads for up up to six family members at $15 per month, matching Apple and Spotify's pricing.
Pandora's personalized playlists are available to all premium subscribers
Back in March, Pandora announced that it would start building playlists personalized to each user's tastes. After a short testing period, those playlists should now be rolling out to everyone subscribed to Pandora Premium, the company's on-demand music service. The company has long offered customized music experiences for its users, learning about what kinds of songs users are likely to enjoy and dislike through its Music Genome Project. But until now, that knowledge has only applied to the radio-style, genre- or song-based "stations" that were Pandora's only listening option until Premium arrived last year.
Apple Music has also unplugged R. Kelly from its playlists
Spotify and Pandora publicly banned R. Kelly's music from their own playlists while he faces allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, but Apple Music had already quietly done the same, according to Rolling Stone. While you can still find the artist's tunes on all three services, the trio has prohibited his songs from company-curated collections, including the popular RapCaviar.
Pandora stops promoting R. Kelly’s music
Yesterday, Spotify pulled R. Kelly from its curated playlists, which include RapCaviar, Discover Weekly and New Music Friday, saying the allegations of sexual assault that have followed R. Kelly for years go against its new policy on hateful conduct. Now, Pandora is following suit. The company told The Blast that while users can still create an R. Kelly radio station or search for him, it will no longer promote his music.
Pandora nears 6 million paid subscribers as it chases profit
In the face of stern competition from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, Pandora managed to show some growth in its latest earnings report. Paid subscribers for Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium, the on-demand feature that launched last March, hit 5.63 million in the first quarter, up 19 percent from the same period last year.
Billboard weighs paid streams more heavily on its music charts
Since Billboard started using streaming data in calculating the country's most popular songs and albums in 2013, there's been a sea change in how music's popularity is quantified. Some artists, like Chance the Rapper, have had hits with streaming-only albums, while bigger names, like Kanye West with The Life of Pablo, can reach the Hot 200 summit primarily on streams. We've known since October that subscription streams will play a bigger role in shaping the Hot 100 songs and Hot 200 albums charts than free and ad-supported streams. The new rules go into effect on June 29th, and Billboard has revealed more detail on how it will calculate its charts going forward.
Streaming TV firm Philo is offering three months of Pandora Premium
Streaming TV upstart Philo is giving customers a freebie: three months of Pandora Premium for new and existing subscribers to either of its packages. Pandora's on-demand music service already offers a 60-day trial, but those who take up the deal will get three months of free music.
