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You can now sync Chromecast with Google Home speakers
Starting today, Google is allowing Chromecast owners to add the streaming device to speaker groups along with Home speakers. The addition of the dongle to the Home ecosystem will allow you to queue up a song, playlist, podcast or audiobook and have it play in sync across all of the speakers and Chromecast-connected devices in your home.
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 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.
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'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.
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.
Pandora Premium arrives on Xbox One
Pandora has dragged its heels expanding its Premium service beyond mobile -- a web player only arrived in February, nearly a year after the mobile launch. But now it's opening up its offerings further still. From today, you'll be able to use the streaming service on Xbox One while you're gaming.
Pandora's on-demand music service works over your Xfinity cable box
Xfinity X1 users have been able to access the free version of Pandora, but now they're also getting support for both Pandora Premium and Pandora Plus. In an update available now, users will be able to get Pandora music going on X1 just by saying "Pandora" into the X1 voice remote and Premium subscribers can search and play any song, album, station or playlist they wish. To get to a specific song, they'll just have to say something like, "Play 'Santa's Coming for Us' by Sia on Pandora." X1 also now supports Pandora Plus, which lets subscribers listen to stations ad-free with additional skips and replays. The update also includes a simpler sign-in experience and a new display design.
Pandora lets free users sample its on-demand service
It's been just over a year since Pandora first gave an official glimpse of its on-demand music service, meant to go up against the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. And while there's a lot to like about Pandora Premium, it hasn't exactly shaken up the status quo -- most people use the free service to build stations based on songs, artists and genres they like. But the company has a somewhat intriguing strategy to give those free users a taste of premium. Today, Pandora is announcing that free users can get a sample of the on-demand service by watching a 15-second video ad. After watching that ad, free users will unlock the full premium experience for a limited amount of time, which means they'll be able to queue up any song they want, build playlists from Pandora's catalog, check out the company's new curated playlists and more.
Pandora's app now offers direct control for Sonos speakers
If you use both Pandora and Sonos, there's a pretty useful update coming your way today. Pandora's apps for iOS and Android now let users directly control music streaming to your Sonos speakers. The Sonos controller app is still required to set up Pandora, but once that's done, users can select songs, playlists and stations directly through the Pandora app to play on their speakers.
Pandora adds curated playlists to its on-demand music service
For years, the main feature of Pandora's music streaming service has been stations generated from the company's vast Music Genome Project. A system that analyzes songs based on 450 different attributes, it helps Pandora build stations of songs that the company claims go together better than what other services offer. But, the company finally launched a full-fledged, on-demand service earlier this year, and now it's expanding the kinds of music it curates for users. Today, Pandora Premium is launching Featured Playlists, a set of 250 curated playlists across the categories you see on pretty much every other music service out there. Pandora says that in addition to genre-focused playlists, it's also building ones for moods, activities, specific artists and "cultural moments."
Pandora AutoPlay spins a custom mix when a playlist ends
Pandora Premium has been out for a few months now, and today the company is adding a notable feature from Rdio, the music-streaming service Pandora purchased in the fall of 2015. AutoPlay does just what it says -- when you finish listening to an album or playlist, Pandora will keep right on playing. But rather than looping the album or playlist, Pandora will generate a queue of songs based specifically on your listening habits. Those songs will also be tailored to the music you were just listening to so it hopefully matches up well with what you're in the mood to hear.
Pandora is looking for a buyer
Pandora's recent relaunch as a Premium on-demand streaming service helped to boost CEO Tim Westergren's case that the company was prepared to take on its bigger rivals like Spotify and Apple Music. The company also made a significant investment in its future by buying up Rdio's design team and later revving up its marketing push to lure new users away from the competition. Now, with the ship apparently headed in the right direction, it appears Pandora is putting itself up for sale and possibly trying to get out while the getting is good. According to a new report from CNBC, Pandora is currently in the process of closing a $150 million investment from hedge fund and private equity firm KKR. As part of the deal, a KKR executive will get a seat on Pandora's board while two current members will step down, but until the deal closes in 30 days, the company is positioning itself as an attractive target for acquisition. "Having secured a significant financial commitment from KKR to strengthen the Company's balance sheet," outgoing Pandora board member James M. P. Feuille said in a statement, "we have positioned the Company to evaluate any potential strategic alternatives, including a sale, in the 30 days before the financing is set to close." While Feuille believes Pandora's future is "exciting," a potential sale could bring a lot of uncertainty for Pandora die-hards and scare off potential new users -- some of whom might like to know if the service will still be around at the end of their 30-day free trial. On the other hand, just because Pandora is making itself available doesn't necessarily mean the company wants to get out of the game entirely. If an attractive buyer doesn't come through, the KKR investment is still a healthy infusion of cash for a popular service that is consistently among the top grossing music apps in the App Store.
Pandora's on-demand streaming service is available to everyone
It's been just about a month since Pandora unveiled its attempt at building full-fledged, on-demand streaming music service. Aside from a handful of bugs, the big problem with Pandora Premium was that it was invite only. That's changing today: Pandora Premium is now available for anyone to try. Like just about every other streaming music service, it'll run you $9.99 per month and the app is available for Android and iOS (a web version of Pandora's on-demand service is coming soon).
Pandora's new on-demand music service is beautiful, but is that enough?
Rdio wasn't the first streaming-music service I used, but it remains the one that I've used the longest. A combination of smart discovery, social features and excellent design (something most music services still can't nail) made it a great option, but it couldn't attract subscribers the way Spotify could. Eventually, Rdio shut down -- but at the same time, Pandora acquired its assets, which the company used to build Pandora Premium. Today that service is finally ready to launch. As announced in December, Pandora Premium is a combination of traditional radio stations as well as an on-demand competitor to Spotify and Apple Music (with the same $10-per-month price, to boot). Both of those rival services have been rapidly gaining subscribers as of late. The question Pandora has to answer is not only whether Premium can compete but also whether there's enough of an audience for it in an already crowded market.
Pandora officially unveils its long-awaited Spotify competitor
It isn't a secret that Pandora was planning to launch a full-fledged Spotify competitor. The company said as much last year when it bought Rdio, which had filed for bankruptcy. But today, at a lavish event in New York City, Pandora gave a small group of VIPs and reporters a look at the new streaming service. It's called Pandora Premium, and, as you'd expect, it offers on-demand access to a massive music catalog. And it looks a lot like Rdio, from the brief glance we have seen so far. But Pandora is leveraging the years of information it has about how its users listen to music to provide the all-important recommendations necessary to help people find new songs.
