PrincessMommy Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 So I'd like to join the 21st century and look into getting something like Pandora. However, my 23yr old daughter was complaining about them recently. Apparently, they had ads for 50 Shades of Grey... and she was not happy (she just got herself out of an emotionally abusive relationship -yay!! - so it's pretty raw for her). She did the right thing to complain to them saying she's not against dealing with ads to get their free software, but was offended by this particular one and felt it was inappropriate, etc. etc. ... She basically got a "We don't believe in censorship so deal with it. If you don't like it then you can pay us $$ to upgrade" attitude. Not real interested in supporting a company that doesn't try to listen to it's customers. At least if you're going to say no, be nice about it... I've already gotta deal with Verizon, if you KWIM. I asked her what alternatives she had, partly because I'd been thinking of getting Pandora for myself. She said there really wasn't much she knew about besides Spotify and that it wasn't quite as good. I'd thought I'd ask the wisdom of the Hive and see if there are other good options besides Pandora. Anyone? edited to add bolding for clarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 The only other options I know about are Spotify, I Heart Radio, and if you have Amazon Prime, Prime Music. I use Prime Music. Ds uses both Spotify and I Heart Radio. What he doesn't like about Pandora is the way it records your likes and dislikes. He says it doesn't make sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I Heart Radio. You can stream real radio stations or create your own like on Pandora. They also have ads, so I'm unsure how she's going to avoid them without paying. Of course, the real radio stations have regular radio station like ads on them. I've only used the "create your own" function twice and I can't remember anything about the ads, or even if I heard any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I like spotify because I can compile a music list of the exact songs I want to hear not "similar" ones which was the case on Pandora - unless something has changed on Pandora. I have not used it in ages. Pandora works for me when I just want to hear a general category of music, i.e., Christmas music. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I Heart Radio. You can stream real radio stations or create your own like on Pandora. They also have ads, so I'm unsure how she's going to avoid them without paying. Of course, the real radio stations have regular radio station like ads on them. I've only used the "create your own" function twice and I can't remember anything about the ads, or even if I heard any. I think that whatever she chooses she'll have to accept the ads or pay to upgrade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I Heart Radio. You can stream real radio stations or create your own like on Pandora. They also have ads, so I'm unsure how she's going to avoid them without paying. Of course, the real radio stations have regular radio station like ads on them. I've only used the "create your own" function twice and I can't remember anything about the ads, or even if I heard any. Well... *as I said in my OP* she told them she wasn't against ads per-say - just found that particular one offensive. And she mentioned that some other online sites (I don't think music related) you could skip an ad and move to another one - that way the site also figured out which ads you liked and which ones you didn't. She suggested that to Pandora - but as I said, she got a rather curt reply from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Now that Grooveshark is no more, Spotify. Or youtube, if you want to spend time syncing up "videos." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I think that whatever she chooses she'll have to accept the ads or pay to upgrade. Like I mentioned above... it's not about ads in and of themselves....it's their attitude when someone complains about a specific ad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 sI can't remember why my dd didn't like Spotify, but it may work for me from the descriptions here. I've heard that Pandora's recommendations are spotty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 amazon prime has a streaming music service. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I like Spotify more than any others I've tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hkpiano Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Songza is fun too! Similar to Pandora except you choose what mood you're in: want happy upbeat pop? Or study music? Or dance music? It's free too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I use Fit Radio, but the music is more dance/workout music. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Milk! I'm not sure where or how to get it because it came pre-installed on my phone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 We love IHeartRadio. I create my own stations and I don't believe I"ve heard any ads on them. I connect to my bluetooth in my kitchen and get my groove on while cooking. lol I do also stream radio stations from around the country, that is fun. The kids all create their own stations. I try to be vigilant about doing the thumbs up or down so that it tunes my station. So far, I like it. Pandora...yeah I couldn't figure out how they filtered your likes/dislikes. And I don't like ads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I've really been liking Noon Pacific which someone here recommended months ago. http://www.noonpacific.com/#/I have a sub to the Noon Pacific mix but there are other collections incl a top 100 and a 24h mixtape. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 My dh just set up our family on Spotify, paid, without ads. He was super impressed with the diversity of music available; he even found a lot of the *very* obscure music he likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 There's also iTunes Radio. I prefer Pandora and some of the others listed above, but it's not bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Okkaaaay just after posting this I put IHeartRadio on and I DID get an ad. But I played the music for an hour with out another ad so.. It's a possibility. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 OP , what response would you have been ok with ? I don't really know of any company that would remove an ad for a highly popular film because one person objected. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I like the tune in radio app. Over air and Internet stations. For a playlist I use Spotify. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 OP , what response would you have been ok with ? I don't really know of any company that would remove an ad for a highly popular film because one person objected. I think my daughter would have preferred a little more umm... humility. Something like, "we're sorry you're unhappy with the ad...we do our best to satisfy our customers. I'm sorry we cannot take the ads down as they've already been paid for, but thank you for your input." Something other than "deal with it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Milk music is a good freebie. We pay for google music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epicurean Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Would your daughter write emails to TV networks to voice her objection to 50 Shades ads? If she did, what kind of response do you think she'd receive? You can see how Pandora in particular wouldn't feel the need to apologize when they give their customers the option of listening ad-free. I'm sure there are lots of people who are upset by a variety of ads--think of a person whose mother just died from cancer hearing an ad for cancer treatment--but that doesn't mean it's the responsibility of the entertainment service to only play the most benign ads possible. The truth may be that your daughter upset herself further by taking steps to try to get the ad removed. I'd definitely counsel her to choose her battles more wisely and not dwell on things like this. :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I think my daughter would have preferred a little more umm... humility. Something like, "we're sorry you're unhappy with the ad...we do our best to satisfy our customers. I'm sorry we cannot take the ads down as they've already been paid for, but thank you for your input." Something other than "deal with it." I don't think you are doing her any favors by counseling her to expect an apology. It's fine to only use services whose content you like, but wanting a free service to turn down ads or apologize for running R rated movie ads is....... asking a whole lot. From their perspective, Miramax is their customer too. To the original question, Spotify is excellent! I have no idea how musicians make money when all their content is available for free instantly, but, I'll take advantage of it since it's something they agreed to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Would your daughter write emails to TV networks to voice her objection to 50 Shades ads? If she did, what kind of response do you think she'd receive? You can see how Pandora in particular wouldn't feel the need to apologize when they give their customers the option of listening ad-free. I'm sure there are lots of people who are upset by a variety of ads--think of a person whose mother just died from cancer hearing an ad for cancer treatment--but that doesn't mean it's the responsibility of the entertainment service to only play the most benign ads possible. The truth may be that your daughter upset herself further by taking steps to try to get the ad removed. I'd definitely counsel her to choose her battles more wisely and not dwell on things like this Or I could teach my daughter to speak up for herself and her opinions and expect to be treated decently. I don't think she's "dwelling" on this - not sure why you'd say that. I just said she mentioned her experience and I *choose* not to use a compnay who appears to treat their customers like they don't matter. Are you saying that poor people can't voice their opinions because they get stuff for free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I *choose* not to use a compnay who appears to treat their customers like they don't matter. Are you saying that poor people can't voice their opinions because they get stuff for free? If you aren't paying for a service, you aren't a customer. You are the product they are selling to their real customers. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Spotify is all done from what I hear. Amazon Prime now has "stations" like Pandora, pretty good so far! I also love their prime playlists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Spotify is all done from what I hear. Amazon Prime now has "stations" like Pandora, pretty good so far! I also love their prime playlists. Ha, that would explain why it's been crashing. oh well. Nice while it lasted. Like I said, didn't seem fair to the artists. OP, no one said your daughter shouldn't complain. It just sounded like you posted this partly to trash Pandora for their customer service, and I honestly don't think "No, we're not going to apologize for running ads that not everyone likes" is that offensive. Or even "we don't believe in censorship". I think that is a fairly legit position for a company that provides some very r-rated material in its songs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Like I mentioned above... it's not about ads in and of themselves....it's their attitude when someone complains about a specific ad. I understand what you are saying, but there's no guarantee that another choice would be any more responsive. 50 Shades is acceptable in the current culture, and the general attitude is definitely what you describe, "deal with it." I will say that I have never seen a 50 Shades ad on Pandora, and I'm guessing the ads are targeted based on the music you listen to. Apparently they think I am interested in single men aged 50 and over, and beach vacations, lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian McGuire Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I have a number of music choices and station links on the resource page of Collegium Music Novae. Although sometimes I just go to Youtube and look up a live concert and play that while cleaning the house. (my favorites and playlists found in my youtube channel accessible below) Christian McGuirehttp://www.christianmcguire.com/p/blog-page.htmlCollegium Musicum Novae - organizaerChristian McGuire is a professional musician, historian, music educator, and Liberal Arts Education advocate who holds a Master of Arts in Musicology from the University of Minnesota and B.A.s in Philosophy and Classical Languages from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He teaches private students in Electric Bass, Classical Guitar, and beginning Piano and has taught Music History and Theory at Augsburg College and the McNally-Smith College of Music. He is a Fencing Foil specialist and a practicing black belt in mixed martial arts under Master Jake Erling from The Art Martial Arts in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Spotify is all done? What's the source for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I use Slacker Radio, Noon Pacific, Fit Radio, Digitally Imported, and the KCRW (it's a public radio station in LA with great music) app, along with Pandora and Amazon Prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Amazon Prime music has replaced all the other services we used to use. It's awesome. You can import the music you own that they don't have, but they have almost everything- you can download tons of stuff that's in the Prime service, OR you can use their radio stations, but you can replay a song, skip an unlimited amount of songs, back up four songs to hear the one you liked before you got distracted by a child, and if you mark that you hate something it immediately skips to another song and will never play it again. It's truly great, and if you already have Amazon Prime it's FREE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Slacker radio is DH's favorite. I usually use itunes radio, but I'm getting sick of hearing the same songs over and over, so I think I might try Amazon prime music next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Amazon Prime music has replaced all the other services we used to use. It's awesome. You can import the music you own that they don't have, but they have almost everything- you can download tons of stuff that's in the Prime service, OR you can use their radio stations, but you can replay a song, skip an unlimited amount of songs, back up four songs to hear the one you liked before you got distracted by a child, and if you mark that you hate something it immediately skips to another song and will never play it again. It's truly great, and if you already have Amazon Prime it's FREE! Yes! The choices are what I love about Amazon Prime music. You don't get that with Pandora. I can't speak about Spotify, I Heart Radio or other services, because I haven't tried them. Of course Prime Music isn't actually free since I pay for Amazon Prime but I have it for other reasons, so the music is a nice bonus that "feels" free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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