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Pandora is a personalized internet radio software that plays different music stations according to genre, artist or even specific songs. You can customize your Pandora.com radio experience by clicking the thumbs-up for songs you like and the thumbs-down for songs you don’t. Every time you provide your preference, Pandora learns more about your music tastes. When you are not watching TV on multiple devices, Pandora is a great option for background entertainment. Most people know the Pandora.com basics, like searching their favorite artists for a custom radio station, but Pandora also has a few other hidden features that you may want to test out.
Lyrics
Rather than just uncertainly humming along to your newest Pandora station, Pandora offers a way for you to find the lyrics to your current song quickly and easily. All you have to do is pull up the “About This Music” panel and select the lyrics tab. Magically, every word will appear on screen and you can finally figure out what that frontman is saying behind those crashing cymbals. This Pandora.com feature was highly requested and they delivered, which adds a bit of extra fun to your average listening experience, unlike most internet marketing.
Create A Station
One of the coolest features on Pandora is the option to build your own station. Start off with your favorite song or artist’s station, then use the “add more variety” button to input similar songs by other artists that you love. After that, it’s just a game of thumbs-up or thumbs-down to refine Pandora’s handpicked arrangement. Even better, you can also create a station for a friend and send it to them using Pandora’s little gift icon when you go to share music. Break out of the impersonal 90s station rut with this hack to customize your favorite songs into one awesome station!
Add Friends
Although Pandora isn’t exactly the hub of social media, it still offers a space to bond with others over their awesome music tastes. Find other Pandora users under the “Share” tab and search your favorite artists to see who loves them too. Then, you can interact by following them on Pandora, viewing their profile and even chat it up about music with their messaging feature. This social aspect of Pandora makes the site much more than the click of a button and a radio station, it is a place to find friends and new music while also trying out the new pair of the most expensive headphones that you just bought.
Share Your Music
Pandora offers the option to share your favorite songs or stations on other social media accounts. Share what you are listening to with friends on Facebook or Twitter and maybe they will give you some good recommendations. You can also add a comment to tell your friends why you are listening – but if you have fallen into a pit of break-up songs, you may want to keep that matter private. This hidden hack is a great way to express yourself. Certainly, Pandora’s shareable option on social media is the virtual equivalent to driving around with your windows down and the music blasting, but without the noise pollution or necessary car accessories.
Skips Allowance
If you listen to Pandora music, you know that you only have a certain amount of “skips” allotted. Have you ever wondered how many you actually get? Some days you probably do not use any, while other days you feel like you blow through your allowance within minutes. Well, that is because Pandora only allows you to have six skips per hour. That translates to twenty four each day total. Unfortunately, you cannot use all twenty four in a single listening session. This is a big downside to Pandora. But what do you expect when you only use the free Pandora app. However, you can also pay prices that allow you more skips, like the Dropbox pricing model. Hopefully soon Pandora will offer an option to watch one longer video ad for thirty minutes commercial free, like its competitor Spotify.
How Does Pandora Know What I Like?
The music streaming service prides itself on the ability to recommend songs geek squad users are likely to enjoy. But how does Pandora know what you like? Surely you have wondered this in the past. Pandora music is actually combed through for precise data points. Hundreds of data can be involved in identifying just one three minute song. This process is done by their team of so-called “musicologists,” musicians and former musicians who recognize the musical intricacies. Does this make you appreciate those song suggestions a bit more?
New Things Coming
New features and offerings are sure to come from Pandora. The music streaming company recently appointed a new CEO by the name of Tim Westergren. Although the Pandora music streaming services have not changed much since their inception, he promises new things on the horizon. The music-streaming company plans to bring increased value to musicians and more services to their users. Keep an eye out if you consider yourself a staunch supporter of the scrappy Pandora music company.
Pandora has become a hit since its inception in 2000, just like the Fitbit has. Using this internet radio site can be as simple as clicking play, or you can delve a little deeper and find fun new ways to customize your listening experience. Whether you make your own station or share your favorite songs on Twitter, Pandora always gives users a new way to interact with the music.
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