Pandora Music Review: Price, Features, Library

People no longer listen to music in the same way. A mere decade ago, people listened to music through iPods and CDs. Music files were the thing. If you wanted more space for your music downloads, you had to upgrade to a music player with more storage. Nowadays, all you need is a mobile device and a secure internet connection.

One of the most popular methods of listening to music is through Pandora Music. However, is it really worth your time and money to subscribe to Pandora? Here, we break down Pandora Music’s price, features, and library in an in-depth review.

What Is Pandora Music?

Pandora Music is a music streaming service based in Oakland, California. It currently only serves users in the United States. Pandora boasts over 70 million active users every month, about 6 million of which are paid, subscribers. The service initially became available on mobile devices through an app compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile. In recent years, however, Pandora launched a desktop client for Windows and Mac.

Features on Pandora Music

One of the main considerations people take into account when choosing a service is the features. If a certain service does not have the features you are looking for, then there is a good chance you will search for an alternative. Let us look at Pandora Music’s features one by one below.

The Songs Library and Archives

Pandora Music started out with a meager 800,000 when it launched. However, over time and through an acquisition by Sirius XM Satellite Radio, it eventually grew its collection of tracks. Now, Pandora boasts over 30 million songs in its library. The streaming service has mainstream and indie tracks from both popular and lesser-known artists. With its extensive library of content, you will surely not run out of songs to play.

The Music Discovery on Pandora

Some people find that music discovery is one of the most important features of a music streaming service. Being one of the first few people to appreciate a song before it becomes a huge hit is a bragging right.

A huge benefit of Pandora Music is its use of the Music Genome Project. This project analyzes over 450 song attributes to make song recommendations. Pandora takes your music taste into account and plays songs the algorithm believes you will like as well.

The Pandora radio station feature allows you to listen to tracks based on genre. You can even listen to other people’s radio stations or create your own to share with others. When every track is played, you have the option to rate the song with a thumbs up or thumbs down. By tapping thumbs up, similar songs will come up in that station. Thumbs down, on the other hand, skips the song and excludes similar songs from the station. A second thumbs down on the same artist blocks songs from that artist from playing again.

Music Playlists

Sometimes, you might want to listen to specific songs you have curated for certain tasks. You may have specific songs in mind for when you are working out or for your long commute. Much like other music streaming services, Pandora lets users create their own custom playlists, depending on the paid plan they are on. You can also share the playlists you have created with other people.

Offline Playback Feature

Constantly looking for an internet connection just to play music can be a hassle. Most of the time, you just want to listen to songs without having to worry about Wi-Fi or consuming your data. This is where offline playback comes in. Depending on your plan, Pandora Music lets you download songs for offline listening. Just plug in your earphones and start playing songs!

Search and Play Shortcuts

While Pandora generally relies on its Music Genome Project for music discovery, that does not mean you have no option of searching for specific songs. If you have a song in mind, you can always just tap on the search bar and begin typing. Pandora will then show you a list of results. From there, you can choose to play the song or add it to your playlist. The process is simple!

How Much Data Does Pandora Use?

Some people rarely have a Wi-Fi network to connect to. As a result, they usually rely on their data plan to stream videos and music. Naturally, before considering Pandora as your streaming service of choice, you would want to know how much data it consumes. Unfortunately, there is no single answer to this question.

The amount of data Pandora uses largely depends on the audio quality you choose and how often you listen to music. The default bitrate is 128 Kbps, which is fairly low. Using this bitrate, the sound quality is not as impressive. However, it offers the lowest data consumption, at about 60 to 70 MB per hour.

On the other hand, paid Pandora users also have the option to up the bitrate to 192 Kbps. This bitrate offers much better sound quality, though it does come with a price. Using your data, listening to songs at 192 Kbps will consume about 90 MB per hour.

Finally, the lowest bitrate is 64 Kbps. Pandora typically switches to this bitrate automatically when it detects that you are connected to the internet via data. You can, of course, change this by toggling the settings. At 64 Kbps, though, you will consume a mere 30 MB per hour of music streaming.

Pandora Paid Service Tiers

Similar to other streaming services, Pandora offers a free version and a paid version. As expected, the free version comes with limitations. It lets you listen to music, but Pandora will play ads in between every 3 or 4 songs.

Additionally, you have no control over what song you can play. You can choose a song, and then Pandora will build a radio station for you based on that choice. Apart from that, you do not have the ability to upgrade to a higher sound quality. You have limited skips, too, and have no access to a desktop client.

As for Pandora’s paid plans, there are two service tiers: the mid-tier Pandora Plus and the top-tier Pandora Premium. Let us take a look at these two options below:

What Is Pandora Plus?

Pandora Plus is the mid-tier subscription plan offered by Pandora Music. With Pandora Plus, users are afforded the luxury of up to three offline radio stations and unlimited skips. Pandora Plus users also have the option to up their sound quality or listen to podcasts. Best of all, you can look forward to no ads at all. The only downside to this plan is that there is no on-demand streaming.

How Much Is Pandora Plus?

Pandora Plus costs $4.99 a month, which translates to $59.88 a year. However, if you opt to pay on an annual basis, you can knock that price down to $54.89.

What Is Pandora Premium?

Pandora Premium is the top-tier subscription plan offered by Pandora Music. With a premium plan, you have full access to Pandora Plus features with a few added bonuses. Pandora Premium users can create and share personalized playlists. Additionally, you can play an unlimited number of songs offline.

How Much Is Pandora Premium?

Pandora Premium costs $9.99 a month, which translates to $119.88 a year. However, you can save more money by subscribing to its yearly premium plan, which costs $109.89.

The music streaming service also offers other discounts, though. For instance, the Pandora Premium Family plan costs $14.99 a month (or $164.89 if paid annually) and can accommodate up to 6 accounts.

Alternatively, Pandora Premium also costs less for students or military affiliates. Pandora Premium Student is available to college students for only $4.99 a month for up to 4 years. On the other hand, Pandora Premium Military costs only $7.99 a month (or $87.89 if paid annually). Eligible parties include active-duty members of the military, reservists, veterans, retirees, and military-registered dependents.

How To Cancel Pandora Premium or Pandora Plus?

One of these days, the time will come when you want to cancel your Pandora Plus or Premium subscription. It could be for any number of reasons — switching to a different streaming service or simply because you can no longer afford it. If you want to turn off automatic renewal (i.e. cancel your subscription plan), you can follow the steps below:

• Using a computer (not a mobile device), sign in to your Pandora Music account
• Go to the Subscriptions page
• Select “Switch Plans”
• On the bottom corner of the screen, find and click “Cancel Subscription”
• You will be asked to enter your password to confirm the cancellation

These steps are very easy to follow. After completing them, you can still enjoy Pandora Plus or Premium features until the expiry date. However, you will no longer be charged for the following month.