Pandora Premium is here. Three months since it was announced, the online music service finally released its new on-demand music streaming feature similar to Spotify and Apple Music. Selected listeners will start receiving invites to test out the Pandora Premium starting on March 15.
The Pandora Premium combines radio-like listening and the freedom to listen to one's own choice of music. Users have access to thousands of songs while Pandora's radio algorithm allows the app to recommend playlists catered to the owner's musical taste. Basically, it's like other streaming services. The difference, according to Venture Beat, is that the Pandora Premium can build an entire playlist based on just one or two songs thumbed up or added by the user. The user only needs to tap on the "Add Similar Songs" for the service to start creating the playlist.
There is also the "My Thumbs Up" playlist where every song that the user has "thumbed up" is added while a new Browse section recommends the latest releases that suit the user's personality or musical preference. The new service also filters through its search results and relegates covers or karaoke versions of songs down on the results page.
Another huge difference between the Pandora Premium and other such services is the design. The Premium's sleek design may be attributed to Pandora's acquisition of Rdio in 2015 as Tech Crunch noted. The Pandora Premium has a new playback control layout, a background that changes colors, a replay button and a menu for collecting, downloading and sharing music.
Pandora Premium will be available for $9.99 a month though selected Pandora users will get to use the service initially for free. The free trial period for the selected users will start on March 15, as mentioned, while everyone else can avail of the upgrade in the next few weeks.
Pandora Internet Radio is one of the first music streaming services around having been founded back in 2000. It was arguably the most popular of its kind for years before the likes of Spotify came on board. Pandora wasn't able to cash in on the on-demand streaming bandwagon at the onset. This is the main reason why newer services such as Spotify, Apple Music and even the relatively young Amazon Music Unlimited got ahead of the line. With the Pandora Premium, the old favorite will try to reclaim its place.
