Finding the Right Audio Streaming Platform for Your Needs
There are many different streaming platforms for music these days, and so it can be hard to decide which one is right for you. For example, TV and movie streaming services usually have a certain level of transparency that music streaming platforms do not seem to intrinsically possess. This can be confusing because it's hard to know what the differences are between the different services.
This is most likely because the bigger video streaming platforms are constantly fluctuating their content and announcing these changes publicly. Plus, you are much more likely to actually see a friend or family member using Hulu or Netflix, as it is often broadcast in front of you, than you are to see somebody actually using, say, Spotify or Tidal. People tend to this more privately. And, therefore, the only way, typically, to find out if one music streaming service is better for you is by either word of mouth or actually signing up for a trial membership to one of them and seeing for yourself.
However, obviously, if you can avoid signing up for a trial membership, all the better, right? I can?t even begin to tell you how many times I have created an account with a subscription service on a trial basis, telling myself, ?this time you will remember to cancel before the membership auto-renews.? Of course, I never remember to do that, though. As a result, I have been stuck with paying for at least a month of a service that I have no interest in continuing to use. That is exactly how they get you. And precisely why streaming services offer trial memberships. They know that 99% of people are going to forget to cancel in time.
But what if I told you that there is another way to see which streaming service is right for you--and it only takes a few minutes? Because let's face it, none of us have the time to test out all these different apps and streaming sites to see if they are worth our hard-earned money. So, I'll do it for you.
Now that you know what you're looking for in an audio streaming site, the answer to which one is the best for you depends on your specific needs. If you want a music streaming site with lots of premade playlists tailored to your listening habits, then Spotify might be a good option for you. If you want access to exclusive tracks and live performances as well as music videos, Tidal might be a better choice. And if convenience is important to you, Apple Music may be the best option for you.
But what about those of us who miss listening to the radio? I mean, the good parts of listening to the radio. The thrill of not knowing what is going to play next. The excitement you feel when your favorite song comes on. The ability to discover new music without having to hunt it down yourself. If that is what you want out of a music streaming service, then maybe you will be best off with Pandora.
The Oldest Music Streaming Platform on the Market
There is a high chance that you are already familiar with Pandora, as it is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) audio streaming platforms that still exist. And prior to the advent of apps like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Pandora was something of the go-to site for music lovers. It was truly one of the most novel approaches to music streaming when it first came out. And, frankly, most of the big music streaming companies that dominate the industry today wouldnât exist had it not been for Pandora paving the way.
Pandora was founded in 2000. However, the website for the Music Genome Project, which offered a visual journey through your favorite music, looked remarkably different from the Pandora we know today. In fact, one could say that the very first iteration of Pandora was the website for the Music Genome Project. The site looked kind of like a family tree, with each song in its own bubble. Liking or disliking that song created new bubbles that grew out of the original one. From there, you could visually graph your listening experience, from artist zero onward. This is where the Pandora algorithm would eventually come from.
Today, the experience of using Pandora is much less visual. All one has to do on Pandora is to choose an artist or a song and allow the site or app to create a radio station based on it. All of the complicated work of how each song tonally and stylistically relates to the next is done behind the scenes. All you have to do, then, as the listener, is sit back and enjoy your personalized radio station. Liking or disliking a song, as was the case with Music Genome Project, will alter the course of your radio station, and a more accurate station will be created in response.
If you have used Pandora in the past, you may recall being annoyed by the number of ads that interrupted radio play. This is one of the main reasons that many listeners turned to traditional radio in the first place. Pandora now offers two different ways for users to enjoy ad-free customized listening: personalized radio stations and an ad-free âAll Genresâ mode.
Freemium with Two Affordable Payment Plan Options
Pandora is a free service that allows users to listen to ads between songs. If you want to avoid the ads, you can upgrade to Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium.
Pandora Plus subscriptions offer a complete removal of ads, the ability to search for and play any type of audio, unlimited skips of ads, and the ability to listen offline. For $4.99 a month, subscribers also have access to Pandora's premium features such as being able to share playlists with other Pandora users and via social media. Personally, I find the affordability and variety of content appealing in comparison to some of the more expensive streaming services such as Spotify ($9.99 a month) and Apple Music ($10.99 a month).
A Relatively Small Library of Music
Pandora falls short when compared to the other big-name audio streaming services when it comes to the number of songs available. Tidal boasts 60 million tracks, while Spotify claims to have 30 million. Apple Music falls right in the middle with 45 million. However, Pandora only has 2 million songs.
This is disappointing for a number of reasons. The main ones being that Pandora only has two million songs compared to Spotify's 10 million and that artists can't upload their music to Pandora the same way they can on Apple Music or Spotify. This means there won't be as much variety and customization available for Pandora stations as there would be on other platforms. Additionally, popular, well-known artists are likely going to dominate the selection on Pandora, which may not be very beneficial for those who are looking for newer, more underground, or up and coming artists.
Pandora is thought to be the most user-friendly music streaming service out there. This is mainly because much of the work is done for the user, allowing them to simply select an artist and have Pandora create a station based on it. They are also able to hit the ?thumbs up? and ?thumbs down? buttons when they like or dislike a song, helping to keep things very minimalistic in appearance and design.
Overall, Pandora may not be the largest music streaming platform, but it does offer a unique experience. Additionally, Pandora Plus costs only $5 per month, which makes it an affordable option for listeners who want a fun and alternative way to listen to music.
Popular search queries
