* Pandora officially unveils Pandora Premium
* Music streaming service available for $9.99/month
* Build custom playlists and receive recommendations based on listening history
Add another player to the music streaming market. Pandora has launched its first full-fledged, on-demand streaming music service.
Pandora Premium will cost you $9.99 per month and the app is available for Android and iOS. If you already subscribe to Spotify or Apple Music, there are a few features that will set Pandora apart from the competition. For starters, its “Music Genome Project” will find similar songs for you to listen to, based on the songs you put on your playlists. It’ll also draw on your listening history and note the songs you hit the “thumbs-up” button for, to recommend new releases you might like.
Pandora says it has also worked with its programmers to filter out the “karaoke tracks and knock-off covers” that show up on the other music sites. So if you’re searching, say, for the new John Mayer album, you’ll see exactly that — and not a list of cover versions or “inspired” orchestral instrumental tracks.
Pandora is launching its premium service with some serious star power. Big Sean, Gorillaz, Questlove, Keith Urban, Pitbull and Miranda Lambert are just a few of the artists starring in the app’s new commercials. Pandora says the 18 artists involved in the campaign will also contribute exclusive “mixtapes,” that will feature the songs that have inspired them most over the years.
Ready to give Pandora Premium a try? Snag a 60-day free trial on Pandora’s site and test out the new platform for yourself. We’ve given it a try and it’s an attractive, easy-to-use interface that’s pretty intuitive to our listening preferences and song choices. While it won’t overthrow Spotify, Apple or even Tidal just yet, it’s definitely a worthy addition to the competitive streaming arena.
