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Remember Pandora?
Well, Pandora is still alive, and it has remained unique in this crowded space.
You might like it.
Pandora
Catch Up With an Old Friend
Pandoraofficially launched all the way back in 2005.
The concept of streaming music over the internet was still very new.
Spotify wouldn’t launch for another five years.
Pandora was an exciting new service at an exciting time on the internet.
The big selling point of Pandora was a recommendation engine based on the “Music Genome Project.”
Essentially, it classifies songs by a number of musical traits.
It then uses those traits to fine-tune the “Stations"based on your likes and dislikes.
The idea is you pick a song, artist, or genre to start a new “Station.”
The songs in the station are based on your original choice, but they’re not static.
As you thumbs up and thumbs down songs, the Station continues to evolve to match your taste.
Spotify’s “Radio” feature is essentially just a playlist of related songs and artists.
This makes for a very casual listening experience.
It reminds me of watching a live cable TV channel.
You simply pick a Station and just let it play until you’re done listening.
You don’t have to worry about it ending and having to find something else.
Pandora is better than TV, though, because you help decide which show plays next.
Services like Spotify and Apple Music are more like Netflix.
There’s a good chance you have something specific in mind when you open them up.
Is Pandora Still Free?
Has all this talk about Pandora got you feeling nostalgic?
Maybe you missed the boat, and you’re looking to try it for the first time.
Being free was another thing that helped Pandora explode in popularity, but is it still free?
Yup, Pandora is still free!
There are some limitations with that, just like there were at launch.
First, you have a limited number of skips per day (Pandora does not specify how many).
Skips include thumbs-downing songs.
The main thing you’ll notice with a free account is ads.
Free users can also exchange listening to ads for playing specific songs and albums.
Related:Which Streaming Music Service Has the Most Songs?
You might be surprised if yougive it a shot.
