If you guys start doing audio commercials, you'll just become Yahoo Music. Differentiate yourselves. We turn to internet radio for the ability to escape from audio commercials and enjoy the music.

I don't mind them so much. They were short and sweet and I only heard it once. I do prefer the visual ads, but as long as I can hear my music, I'm fine.

I for one am understanding of your need to generate revenue to maintain this excellent service. Especially if you go to some of the background or portable options you hint at above, audio ads may be the only way to do that. I heard the McDonalds ad and considered it far less intrusive than the types of ads I get on other "free" Internet radio services. If you could design your ads like that--NPR style as you said--and not make them constant interruptions to them music (start up and/or change of station are good ideas), then I say go for it. If that helps keep Pandora free and improving, I'm all for it.

Can we get ads related to our music tastes? For example, before some indie-pop station it says "Moog supports independent music". or before some Fishbone song it says "Learn to build a theramin and other gadgets at BlahblahDIYgadgets.com" and maybe if you listen to Nickelback an ad comes on and says "you have crappy taste in music, no doubt you have crappy taste in food, eat at McDonald's"

Pandora is the closest thing to a mass-personalization by an actual human being. Maybe you can tailor the ads by a real human being that actually matters to me. (Like, let me hear a Peta ad before listening to some hardcore band. I'll probably even donate!) I'm sure the programming would be a breeze by just associating one of your many musical breakdowns to the ad. (You'd probably even get more money for tailored ads, Google-stylee. woo hoo!)

Ofcourse I'd rather have it free with no ads, but if it needs to happen for Pandora to get better. Why not.

I was happy to talk to you guys about the ad, but was even more interested in other ways Pandora could find alternative revenue streams, other than ads/subscription. I'd love to hear of your guy's thoughts on that topic; I posted some ideas at the address below, but I'm sure you have some ideas brewing as well.

http://geeklimit.com/2007/01/10/alternative-revenue-ideas-for-pandora/

I definitely can understand the need for audio ads. Though I personally can assure you that McDonalds is wasting their money trying to reach me!

One ad a day is OK. If there is some other "non invasive" advertising method available in the future, I would ask that you go that route. I don't think that any such advertising solution exists at the moment. Perhaps you will create an industry standard for this! :-)

I HAVE TO come out and say that your service is absolutely amazing! I can not emphasize this enough. Having said that, expect me to become a subscriber very soon. I am an aspiring DJ and Pandora is really helping me discover more and more of the musical world I'm trying to get familiar with - and the playlist I have right now, I could not have picked better songs myself.

I love idea of banners or the current McDonald's style ad you have up. Even pop-ups are fine, but we all know that there are plenty of people out there who will use adblockers for those.

And I must agree if you add video or audio commercials to the stream, Pandora will just become another Yahoo Music! Engine. So I must agree with Cliff completely, I'm afraid.

However, I do believe there can be some middle ground. The problem with other music engines is that the ads have become so constant and overwhelming, I just can't sit through the content anymore. Perhaps (if it can be successfully accomplished) allow for ad(s?) at the beginning and then at every 1hr or 45 minutes (just depending on whenever a song ends within that range of time).

Also, including a simple paypal "donate" link can create quite a bit of revenue itself - although some users may object to donating if there is a barrage of ads (and I hate to say it, but some people will also object if there is a subscription option).

In addition, I believe you could create some kind of a cd distribution service. Perhaps sell CDs based on a user's song preferences/"music genome". Of course, if this causes too many issues with record labels and (oh I just realized this) amazon/itunes, you could do an almost identical service as the one I mentioned, but with the idea to get the lesser-known and independent artists into users' homes.

Somewhere down the line Pandora could also help sponsor real-life (eclectic?) events/concerts/tours and cover the costs via ticket, merchandise, and cd sales. Of course this is a substantial investment, and I don't think it could be successful until more people begin discovering Pandora (hint hint: I'd be more than willing to distribute stickers or something similar to help promote Pandora if you make them available).

Anyway, good luck, and again, Really loving the service!

I would prefer if audio advertising were kept to a minimum. The absence of commercials interrupting my music listening experience is one of the reasons I turn to Pandora. Having more than one commercial each day would ruin it for me.

That said, thanks for the wonderful service you're providing. Keep up the good work!

It's alright for me that Pandora does ads on its free service, while the paid service remains at a reasonable price.

It is a dilemna. I decided upon my first visit to Pandora that the service was worth paying for, and also to then be out-of-the-loop regarding advertising. It's difficult to attract listeners from the myriad of internet and commercial choices that exist. Isn't there a way to tell how long someone has been a (free) client of Pandora, and/or the amount of usage their stations generate? A possibly enticing approach would be to establish some type of 'early adapter' amnesty program, allowing the long term 'free' users a generous discount. Ads are just not going to cut it, no matter how civilized they are recorded. Another approach would be to present options other than paying a service fee. Meeting some criteria that is relevant to Pandora. Student rates or other discounts or extended trial periods. Credit for community involvement, volunteering or charitable donations that appeal to (or are channeled through) Pandora? I even have a SqueezeBox, thanks to the pleasure Pandora provides. I am happy to pay, but realize that your service still needs to capture ALL available ears to thrive. Will you tell us what you have decided?

There is an article on mainframe regarding pandora and among others there is an opinion on ads in pandora. You should have a look here: http://www.mainframe.gr/index.php/2007/01/17/recommendations-for-pandora/

I agree with those who are saying that more than one ad every couple hours would be too much. I understand that even Pandora "need to get paid, son," but Pandora needs to understand that people turn to it because it's uniquiely different. To keep this fuzzy feeling, you'll have to do the same with advertising. I really like the idea of personalized ads, but I could only imagine the amount of work that would be to have sufficient diversity. But, keep in mind that it would provide a unique opportunity for advertisers to focus so specifically.

I am willing to go a lot farther with ads before I give up the free service.

I appreciate that you are trying to keep the ads understated. That's good customer service. That's what sells these days.

So try to keep the ads small. Add as many as you need to keep the service in place. If it gets too much, I can sacrifice a meal out or two to subscribe.

I'm a big fan of Pandora; even though you aim at the American market and there isn't to much European music.
I think I'm with Melanie; you need money but how to get it... well, there are other alternatives mentioned in the reactions (label/concert collaboration's) also the pay-pal was a good idea, because I actually would give you my money (as soon as it is okay for us Europeans to listen) and I'm really stingy! (and thus dutch ;))
oh, an idea, how about contacting record companies and let them introduce new bands and give them the feedback on how many thumbs up a new band gets!
(market your listeners feedback info - in short)
Anyway, too much commercials might ruin the uniqueness of Pandora, but I also employ Pandora to use your brilliance and inventiveness to find other ways of making money, so Pandora can grow! And promote your memberships better, I didn't even knew it existed up until reading this thread...

The audio ad was not that bad in my opinion. My officemate on the otherhand, declared that the end of pandora was neigh!

You say the vast majority of users don't choose the subscription offer. I think that this has to do with the interface (as cool as it is). I'm sure you guys have thought of it, but I'll say it anyhow:

Write an iTunes plugin. I'd pay a monthly subscription fee just for the convinience of not having to run a web browser to listen to pandora!

Although I understand Pandora seeking additional sources of revenue to support this wonderful model of internet radio, I do have to say that I was surprised when I first heard the audio ad. I do find the visual ads very appealing and helpful though.

I have not seen any indication that there was a paid service available to users but $36 may be too much to spend at this time with my limited budget.

Please do be careful with these ads. Many people have been impressed by Pandora and some have switched from Yahoo! to Pandora exclusively. I would expect that this switch was due to the interface and presentation: which includes the lack of audio ads.

Thank you for the wonderful service though. I have had many good hours listening and discovering new music.

i think it's a great idea. anybody not willing to spend 9 seconds a day to help a site that offered them so much isn't worth being there, and you should get something out of this great service.

I am strongly against the presence of audio ads in the music stream, but for business reasons rather than personal ones. I'm one of the relatively few who would sign up for the subscription service the moment that the stream was polluted with ads, and so I would continue to enjoy ad-free Pandora no matter what.

I suspect, however, that active listenership would drop dramatically were even the lightest audio ad program begun. Only testing can confirm that suspicion, of course, and so test as you must. Nevertheless, I believe that it's far more important for the site to develop and grow a listener community than corrupt the service for relatively short-term monetary gains.

I'd much rather see Pandora explore ways to make money by linking listeners more directly to artists. I know that Pandora does not have the clout of Apple (and, therefore, can not mandate to the publishers the pricing the way that Apple can), but I am certain that if Pandora could offer a way to download at least some tracks for a buck of which the artist got a quarter in stead of iTune's 3 or 4 cents listeners would flock to download here. The key, of course, would be to remove the music publishers from the picture for such tracks.

Let's revolutionize the music industry instead of reinventing broadcast radio. If you go the audio ad route what's next? DJ's, talk Pandora, payola, and Clear Channel? Please, no audio ads.

After all, it is a business. The "amazing" is supported by ad dollars...that's reality. The less obtrusive the better, however. I like the once a day between station switches concept.

I missed the Ad. Actually I just found Pandora from a link offered by an NPR story about itunes. I believe the ad, as noted, was brief and well chosen. Just as NPR accepts support from organizations like Wal-Mart, if Pandora is able to accept support from a company like MacDonald's,I congratulate them for attracting such a large advertiser. If this is able to keep the service viable and "free" we are all the beneficiaries. Until we can all step up and pay the minimal fee for this fantastic service - i understand the need to accept advertising dollars. Similarly chosen brief non-repetivive ads should be welcomed - its certainly better than option of traditional commercial radio stations.

Personally the ads would probably push me away after a while - it's the reason I got Sirius in my car!
Would I become a paid user or no longer a users?
Harder decision.
If there wasa PC client (Vista sidebar gadget, Media Center plug in etc) then I'd probably not hesitate, but the experience of using Pandora (or radio.msn) in a browser irks me somewhat. While I love the personalisation I can get a client (Last.FM) that does similar without needing a browser (and their app responds to my keyboard media keys) or I can use SongBird as a client

I'm a bit worried about the banner ads on the minimized player right now. They don't bother me at all, and I totally support them being there, but...

Since there's been more, my music has sometimes started and stopped, like a CD skipping. It's a bit disruptive at times...any ideas on how to fix it?

I know you need to make revenue...but sheesh! I come to Pandora to avoid all that crap. Slam my visual ads if you want, but if you do audio ads you can guarantee that I and many listeners like me will MOVE ON to the next best thing in our continuing effort to avoid commercial-filled music.

I personally don't mind if i hear an add once in a while, since i'm using your service for free. but i don't want to hear those adds often, and i don't want pandora to be overwhelmed with adds.

Like someone suggested here earlier, i think adds about music, and our music tastes is a good idea.

Just wanted to say thanks for the subscriber option- at $36 a year, $3 per month (less than 2 cups of coffee), I'm easily getting more than 10 cents a day of value out of the service, and having no ads on top of that is just a bonus on top of the support I can give.

I think Pandora's great and I don't have a problem with the ads at all - in fact I had forgotten that I'd heard it. You've got to make money somehow. Those who are truly bothered by the advertising should subscribe.

Ads don't bother me. Heck, I work in commercial radio, so my paycheck depends on the darn things.

What I would suggest is limiting the ads to one each time a listener changed stations. It would be most effective for your clients, because when you are clicking to change stations, you are really paying attention. And at that point, we would get used to hearing an ad before the new program begins.

What I think would be most bothersome to me would be doing what Yahoo! does, playing a commercial ever 2 or 3 songs. That would get annoying.

Steve

While I thought the McDonalds ad, certainly an initial shock to my ears, was not terribly invasive and somewhat to be expected in today's commercial world (I actually like the visual ads), I'm quite taken aback by the merging with MSN Radio. In reading the Jan. 17 blog it says "We'll do a better job next time of describing our plans here on the blog in advance of any additional tests." Maybe I've had my headphones on and eyes closed enjoying the Pandora music selection a little too much, but I don't remember seeing any hints of transitions to MSN-land.
Though this merge is annoying in a whole variety of ways, I have two specific complaints. First, the new MSN "backstage" format does not always load properly (something I hope will be corrected shortly), and -more importantly- the previously "new" Pandora backstage format, in use for maybe a month or so, was GREAT!! I loved being able to see who was listening to the same music I was. I HATE being sent to an MSN Radio page for the artist or song I'm looking at, which has the appearance of one big advertisement. What happened to all of the artists' background, song and album info???
Alas, I'll give it a week or so, but it looks like I may be migrating to a different online music service.

I think that as long as Pandora doesn't become overwhelmed with ads, I would be happy to listen to a few advertisements that help keep it running.

Hi Haley,

The MSN Radio version of Pandora is completely seperate from Pandora.com. Nothing here at Pandora.com has changed at all -- Backstage is the same as it ever was. It is true that if you visit from radio.msn.com some of the features in the player link through to MSN Music rather than Pandora pages; that's just part of the relationship we've established with Microsoft. If you prefer the experience without the MSN brand, just visit www.pandora.com as your starting point and none of the Microsoft stuff will be evident.

Tom
CTO @ Pandora

i dont mind if you guys need to do the kind of advertising as the mcdonalds ad - hearing it once a day is not so bad if it helps pandora. i think my distate for it was more the fact that it was mcdonalds and it wasnt just 'brought to you by mcdonalds' but some cheesy line along with it.

i was annoyed by it because it was mcdonalds, but i was mostly scared that we were going to be overwhelmed by ads.

i understand the need for more advertising revenue!

As long as it's one commercial each day, i see no problem.

But anymore, and, blahhhh.

It didn't even occur to me to be annoyed about the ad. It came at a time when I wasn't listening to music. Even if the ad had come between music selections it was short enough that I wouldn't have minded it. So long as you don't play ads more frequently than every five songs and keep them unobtrusive, I'll be a happy Pandora listener.

Now, if you ever dare play those annoying commercials found on top 40 stations (bad voice acting, awful attempts at jingles, and terribly long), then I will go somewhere else until my budget can afford an ad-free subscription.

this came up tonight at the seattle podcasters meeting. chris pirillo said no big deal, you guys provide an awesome service. i obviously agree.

do what you have to do to keep your awesome service free!!

I have to say I LOVE Pandora! I've told all my co-workers about it and most of my office bound friends as well. I understand the need to generate revenue by using ads as operating funds don't just appear out of the clear blue sky. I have to applaud you for taking time to examine what alternative methods would cater to your users as well as your advertisers. While, I really didn't care for the McDonald's audio ad, primarily because it's McDonald's, I have to say it wasn't obnoxious like what you usually here on other services. This I appreciate very much. The banners I don't mind so much. I just like the fact that you didn't bog us down with advertisement after advertisment like Yahoo and 360 Live.
Since Pandora is all about new music, I would suggest seeking advertising from some of the independant labels looking to launch new artists.
However, I disagree with the user that suggested ad placement according to the user's listening preferences. I believe you'd need to use a 3rd party to analyze user preference to determine ad placement. This could cause unwanted cookies and spyware. Besides it's bad enough people are tracked and spied on so corporations can determine how to capitalize on getting more money in this matter on other sites as well as offline in retail stores and such. Can't Pandora remain untainted by all that? *smile*
Also, what's the deal with editing the channels? Since you've added this feature I haven't been able to access all the categories to edit my stations.
And tell me it isn't true about merging with MSN!!

I very much appreciate your bringing the subject of advertising up in a Blog post of it's own. I think it is great that you are willing to air this issue in a public forum.

I was one of the people who bitched on the blog about the ad. Hearing the ad one time was enough for me to move off for a while. I only heard it once during one station change and thought that I would be hearing it every time I changed stations, so I stopped listening to Pandora for a while.

If you had posted that the ad would be appearing once a day rather I would have stuck around. That isn't an unreasonable level of advertising for me. However because my Pandora listening style involves a lot of station switching hearing the ad every time I switched would have been extremely annoying for me.

I'm surprised that a subscription to Pandora is available. I don't notice any links on my Pandora pages and will definitely sign up once you show me how to do it. This is such a great service I would have signed up for a paid subscription even without advertising having reared it's head.

I do think that one ad up to 15 seconds in length played at most once an hour would be something I could have accepted for a "free" service, but I'll definitely pay to avoid the ads. However I do think that it would be better to get the money for the site another way.

Listening to Pandora has already changed my music purchasing behavior. In the past few years I've generally bought a handful of CDs a year. My entertainment budget is limited, and because I wasn't being wowed by any music my purchases were proportionally low. Now however I am discovering new artists and new songs that I have to get. I'm finding ways to get more funds for CDs and am making more purchases.

The local used music stores have benefited most from my new music awareness. I've taken my old records and CDs into them so that I could get new music. Lala.com has also gotten money because I started using their service as a result of wanting things I heard on Pandora. It would be great if you could find a way to tap into those folks. Maybe locally targetted ads might be helpful. I'll also start purchasing from Amazon and iTunes, but I prefer instant gratification so a trip to the used CD store is a more satisfying music experience than ordering on line.

I'll be signing up for the paid version of Pandora as soon as someone tells me how to do that. However if that option hadn't been available and the ads had been more intrusive I probably would have stopped listening to Pandora. I was doing just fine without Pandora and could go back to not listening to it. I must say however that my musical life has improved greatly since starting to really use Pandora daily at work.

Pandora is a great invention and the thing I like best is the missing moderation, if ads or other speeches, doesn�t matter.

If possible to avoid this spoken ads and to create revenues and cash flow at any other thing, i would really appreciate!

Thanks and thumbs up for ad-free Pandora !

Olaf from Germany

I have to say that Pandora has a very unique system of music matching. Just reading the descriptions written on why a song or artist was selected to be played lets me know that Pandora really has scientifically categorized music. On that note however, the use of audio commercials completely ruins the vibe you feel when listening to music. To me it would be like sitting in a peaceful park meditating only to hear the screaming engines of a Boeing 747 just 100 feet above you while in the middle of your calm. If revenue is truly the need, there are certainly additional avenues I recommend using before turning to "regular radio."

Pandora works fine without audio ads. Just...don't sell out to Yahoo. Their music service stinks. Their software is buggy and horrible. Thanks in advance for leaving things as they are with the NO AUDIO AD streams. Because of your superior product, I'm leaving Yahoo Music and not renewing the subscription I have with them.

I wonder if McDonald's wants to be known as the company that ruins everyone's Pandora experience? I would suggest being careful what you advertise in the stream. Target them to a user's preferences. Even let us put settings in our profile to tell Pandora what ads we'd be willing to tolerate. Keep the ads down to one every 2 hours... and balance that with improvements like being able use Pandora in a widget or embedded into our own websites. Maybe the widget and embedded versions could be sans banner ads but chock full of audio ads and the regular player just banner ads. Folks who wanted an audio ad free experience could opt out.

Shameless plug:

http://pandorastations.crispynews.com

I'm happy to have a few audio adverts for the free version. I hope you find the best balance to pay for your costs etc.

Ads are fine. McDonalds isn't. Simple as that.

The thing I like about Pandora is that I like to listen to it while I sleep....Nothing is more annoying than the annoying ads that BLARE from live365....and to be woken up by an announcer screaming for 3 minutes between songs is a bit extreme. Which brings me to another point....do you need to have that *you seem to have stopped listening" popup....yes im still listening...im just sleeping.... ;-)

For me, if you add Audio Ads, your value proposition drops for me.

Audio ads in free version...more understandable

Audio ads in paid version...Just say no!!!!!!!

I prefer the graphical ads. The audio ads, although they are short, I think, disturb the tone of the musical setting. And, if you are like me, one who likes to switch stations often, the ads would get annoying. Just a thought.

You guys asked for specific suggestions; Here is one:

One audio ad on start-up is fine. Additionally, as you already have the timing device ("dead mans handle") to keep us nodders wake up every now and then, please utilise that to insert another ad on every station change - provided it is more than one hour since the last ad! This should keep the channel surfers happy too. Even they would only get an ad once an hour.

At these points we listeners are not listening to music but adjusting the player. It would be least intrusive, we would know about it in advance and would not feel interrupted or being pushed with something out of the blue.

In a word: It would be fair advertising.

Targetted advertisements should be more favorable by us listeners as well as advertisers too. I'm sure *they* don't want to annoy a potential customer by an ad that the listener immediately hates - thus making him/her a certified non-customer.

So make the advertisers categorise their ad to suit to some major Music Genome attributes, and then play that ad on only such stations that favor that particular attribute. Without knowing the structure of the genome, let me suggest, say, ten broad categories that would cover all the music you have?

I wouldn't mind hearing "This station supported by XYZ Discotheque" while starting up my "Beat Disco" station. Similarly, "You can find more Assemblage 23 music at Epe's Music Shop" when switching to my "Assemblage 23 Station"...

Someone suggested that the ad would play when the next title is already displayed on the player. This is an excellent point. Seconded!

Regional targetting is also already possible: You do have our zip codes! It shouldn't be too difficult to insert an ad to audio streams of listeners of only certain regions as specified by the advertiser.

These rules would keep the ads potentially more interesting and relevant to the listeners who receive them. Nothing is more annoying than spamming bulk adverts to *everyone* without any concern if they want to hear them or if they actually can even benefit from the information given in the ad.

Finally, and I think the majority of us would strongly agree: Only accept advertisements that are spoken word only!
This would make them clearly distinctive from music, and would feel far more fair to a listener as well as far less annoying.
So *no* music in the ads, no jingles, no background muzak or anything like that.

Great service.....it's unique so it beats the rest out there for me. Web interface is absolutely fine....I like the fact that it is minimalistic, You don't need plugins to itunes etc....it works well as it is.

As for ads....well I wouldn't pay for a subscription to be honest....there's so much free radio etc available. If it's a choice between a few ads or no Pandora then obviously many user will accept a limited number of unobtrusive. You'll have to find the balance between advertising revenue and a reduced user base.

Keep up the good work

I don't mind ONE ad when I log in. You have to pay the bills, but I don't want to be turned off and never use your service again. You will get more people to become paid subscribers by making them happy than you would by upsetting them with advertising.

If you could find a way to match ads to musical preferences, increase the relevance, that would be cool. I like the understated nature of the ad.

Celebrity PSAs might be interesting, since many celebs are associated with certain kinds of music. Hearing Diddy's voice when you tune in to your hip hop station would not be inappropriate.

Please, really consider who your audience is. I bet most Pandora users aren't McDonald's customers.

I don't mind low-key ads (similar to NPR) if there are not too many. This is such a fantastic idea, I'm happy to help support it by listening to ads.

well, if ads will mean continuing existence of Pandora, then i say hit me.

If audio ads become the norm i will move to the subscription service even though I only have internet access for about 4 months in each year due to my work. However, I think $36 is high - you might get more takers if it were $19.99. We can't expect to get the service for nothing and some people will be using blockers and not see the ads. Can you offer some perks for subscribers? Such as a player that can minimise to the system area? I would like a player that isn't so easy to close by accident. I worry that by going for audio ads you will lose a lot of listeners and that will be irreversible.

Hi there I just wanted to say that Pandora is on the internet and therefore there are people outside US (like me) that listen to it, so if you are considering any ads you should think global!

I am definetly against any audio ads. I think you should made plenty money from the ads you already have on your site.

Also sometimes when I hear a good song on pandora I would like to listen to it again but I cant seem to be able to do it using the interface is this because of the rights or am I doing something wrong?

Good luck to you anyway I think it is a great project

I'm not just a Pandora listener, I would say I'm a fan. I think what you are doing and the way you are doing it is so unique, I have blogged about it. I've practically preached to everyone I know personally! For this reason, I actually held off on posting here until I thought on the possibilities. This will also be a giant post...sorry about that! :) I want Pandora to do
what Pandora must to succeed.

As an NPR listener, I'm not at all bothered by sponsors saying a few words and stating their support of NPR. So, if audio ads happen I would hope that: 1) the advertisers will *not* inundate listeners with cheesy copy. 2) ads would be really infrequent.

I tend to stay on one channel for awhile; this is mostly because I am still experimenting with what Pandora will find when I type in a band or song. At some point, I will start mixing my channels...if the ads cued frequently in a switch or mix format, it would probably ruin the listening experience for me. At start up would be fine, plus every 2-3 hours would be less likely to chase me away.

I would like say to Pandora's advertising clients:
I am perhaps one of the most difficult people for companies to reach. My TV habits: *maybe* 12 hrs in a *whole* year. I haven't tuned into traditional commercial radio since the mid 80's. I could go on and on, really. I'm one of those consumers that's moved away from all traditional media and I suspect there are plenty like me, plenty more to come as Web 2.0 grows. Really, the only shot any company has to reach me, is on the Internet. Here's where Pandora's visual ads have an edge over all other websites: I'm here to listen. I come back to the page the player is embedded on to "thumb up or down" songs and view the "backstage" frequently. Because the visual ads are minimal, I actually SEE them, no joke! I don't notice ads on most other sites, which I generally visit to read--or those sites overpopulated with ads. In other words, my eyes aren't busy here--when the ads are well designed (as they have been so far) I get the advertising message. I probably *hadn't* noticed a visual ad in several months-maybe even longer-until tuning into Pandora. Pay more for Pandora ads! It's not your run-of-the-mill chance to reach customers! There. That had to be said. :)

I understand why some respondents are suggesting "targeted" ads. Here's my concern for Pandora when it comes to that approach: people might not appreciate the info that would have to be collected to pull it off *well*, unless it's done Pandora-side, rather than client-side. Perhaps a welcome email stating: "As a Pandora Free listener, you can tailor your ads by filling out a small survey on your next visit..." and emphasizing that you aren't going to sell the info or spam them to death. If the targeted ads were voluntary, perhaps people (like me) wouldn't mind being targeted.

Collecting zero additional info and using zip codes to sell your advertising regionally is a genius idea--if your office is set up to handle such an undertaking. If your staff can't be all over the country, perhaps partnering with agencies in regions where your listener base is strong would work? Low invasiveness in info gathering and high potential to sell ads that mean something to listeners seems a wise approach.

Clearly, some listeners are really thinking about this. Maybe a Pandora-with-ads-test-run with *guaranteed* feedback is in order? A voluntary "sign-up" for a Pandora-with-ads-Beta test of sorts? Ask us to visit a page and fill out a quick form that auto tallies, after a test run? Current listeners and new comers are likely to just tune out if it goes badly, without telling you why. That would be tragic!

Being a rather geeky person, I went out and scoured the web for any articles/blogs about Pandora and though a few bloggers like other streams, I disagree and will blog my heart out about Pandora again. If any of my fellow Pandora listeners are fans, if you really LOVE Pandora, go somewhere and write about it on the net. The more listeners cheer Pandora on and create buzz on the net, the more registered users Pandora may garner, the more listeners they can boast (to advertising clients) about having; A simple equation: more listeners = more dollars they can ask advertisers to pay. More dollars per ad = fewer ads in the free version. If you use any social bookmarking tools, like Digg, Blue Dot, De.lici.ous make sure you cheer Pandora on that way too....

I think the monthly rate is reasonable and have pondered subscribing. Holding me back: I have an eMusic subscription. (This might annoy iTunes, but I prefer the artists and the lack of paranoid control over how I use my music from eMusic.) I *do* buy music I hear on Pandora. If I'm not in the mood to see ads (or possibly hear them) I'll play any of the 100's of songs I own--and I have the option to listen my way--without using my computer to do so. The gadget to tune in to Pandora in any room looks really slick and I love the idea...but the price is too high for me to justify right now. I watch technology like a hawk though, so I keep hoping a more affordable device may come in the future! If that happens, I am *so* subscribing!

So...giant post, eh? Do what you must. I have a great deal of faith it what that may be too. Your use of a blog and your concern for listener reaction says a lot about Pandora's business philosophy. The use of music theory/Genome Project gives the impression that this is more than another company looking to turn an easy buck and squeeze people for every dollar Pandora can get. It seems like a labor of love that just so happens to be a brilliant business opportunity, ripe with potential for the future. I respect that and I'll stick around to cheer you on. I also hope I'll read about how everyone behind Pandora is a billionaire someday...

Well, that finally covers it! Best of luck and thank you for doing something worth paying attention too, something I will probably pay to tune into at some point in the future.

P.S. Oops! One more thought: More truly independent artists please? That might turn the subscription tide for me too...

wow I love it. really. the only thing I don't like is that I can't repeat.

Just another fantastic reason to get a paid membership. Come on, people, support Pandora! Give them money!

The problem lies with getting increased revinue for Pandora and the company/person investing, while not driving away listeners with a glut of the blasted things and cutting down the number of advertisers due to those dwindling numbers.

I've always found more expensive ads that appear less often are more prone to acceptance and recognition, that a slew of mundane and diarrhetic adversiting.

Might I suggest, furthermore, tailoring the ad style more to the community. Not only the subject matter (Starbucks rather than McDonalds for instance), but also the tone/mood. In dealing with a community that isn't the mainstream, one might limit hostility by having ads that appeal, rather than culture shock.

Nothing worse than having my funky soul-train derailed by an ad about penis enlargement.

Pandora for free on a portable device?? Smart thinking, guys. Tasteful spoken ads are a great way to get a little revenue from users who aren't looking at a web page.
They also might be just the nudge some folks need to subscribe! Dep and others have expressed concern over the, um, purity of the experience with these ads, but I trust that you'll take this in the right direction.

If you guys only do it once a day, I'd put up with any ad. Even a 30 second ad once an hour is way better than any other online thing. If you are viewing videos on MSNBC or something, you get an ad before the first video, then again before the 3rd video, and before the 5th video, or so on. And the worst part is, it's always the same commercial! You guys are on the right track, I have no doubts that you will find a way to have ads that have no impact on the quality of the product.

I got the ad a few times and it surprised me, but I was far from angry of even mad. I understand you guys are largely ad-based and that's cool by me; you provide and amazing service.

But McDonalds? Like other users I was shocked and actually laughed at the thought of eating a fast food burger. If there's any way you can have ads target fans of certain music types or bands, that's best. I'm sure you could find internet instrument retailers, tech/gadget manufacturers, other software companies, or just other websites that'd be happy to advertise here.

If I heard an ad for iPods, Zunes, or even other sites like Newegg, Amazon, and Gizmodo, that'd be perfect. Maybe even Starbucks. The Scion ad now is cool, but you know who you need?

Old Spice. Get them to have Bruce Campbell do a commercial.

I feel we're already attacked with plenty of ads in every concievable format every single day of our lives. There are better ways to make money to keep Pandora alive, so *please* save the audio ads for the crappy mass-produced pop radio stations that I hate so much. If you decide to open that flood gate, it will be tough to turn back.

Visual ads are fine because it's a different stream of input and it doesn't interefere with the user listening experience. Audio ads interrupt the flow and are just plain annoying! I cringe.

You guys have engineered an amazing, innovative way to contribute to the music community and I know you can devise an equally clever income stream without succumbing to the standard radio station income model. Come on - it's the Web! You have so many options it's not even funny - why take the easy route and risk alienating people?

That being said - I love and totally support the work you're doing - undisputed quality! I hope you find a way to work around the money issues without sacrificing the benefits of the existing system.

The audio advertisements aren't too bad. If it supports Pandora (and will help you expand your playlist), I'm all for it. Please keep the ads low key, though. I like how the ad was very simple and didn't distract from the music much. But the same commercial playing over and over was getting annoying.

i have to say this place is awesome and by the way u should come to Nashville TN and meet other pandora listeners

The audio ads are a good way for you to get $, but you should try not to overshadow the music with them. Try playing them RARELY but when music is loading or waiting to play.

Hey, I have an idea to throw out there...

Thumbs up or down for an ad? This would tell the marketing managers for the company a little about the reception of the ad and would be a good way to 'tune' into ad's that the user might not mind...

You could even apply some of your software to the process!

I haven't read any of the other comments here, just the blog post...

Audio ads would severely detract from the experience. One of the great strengths of Pandora is that it matches music to ease the transition from one track to the next. Nothing is more jarring than the shrill voice of a pepped-up saleman hawking his wares.

I'd suggest stopping the music every 5 or so tracks, until the window is on screen with a visual ad playing, and the music resuming in the background.

Just something to think about, if you really start using audio ads many businesses may no longer use Pandora for playing music on the sales floor. The bookstore I currently work at often uses Pandora but if there were audio ads I know we would discontuine using Pandora as we would not feel it apporiate to be playing ads to our customers. I understand the need for revenue but please keep exploring.

I don't want to sound ridiculous, but I'd hapilly listen to an advertisement everytime I start Pandora. I believe you could even ask users if they will accept an advertisement (a quick yes or no question once a user creates an account, but that could be toggled anytime). I suspect a significant number of users will say yes to a single ad, and then won't ever bother to change the option. Of course the slippery slope is what many are afraid of.

Also, it would be interesting to see what was going on financially. Like, rather than see some general statement about how the ads support the site, knowing more about how much revenue you get from audio ads compared to displayed, and also how much that money helps you add music, license, etc. Like if you could say, "every ten ads you listen to gives us the revenue to allow us to add 3.2 new songs to our library for your listening pleasure," that would be cool.

I don’t get it. I thought Pandora was advertising, just sell the music.

People don't want to listen to adverts, even those who say they will tolerate averts don't want adverts they are just willing to tolerate them because they love your service and want you to continue helping them discover great music.

Basically those that support adverts want the kind of adverts that they can ignore, but surely advertisers don't want to buy the kind of advertisements that people ignore.

Some people are suggesting that you can target advertisements based on what people are listening to, but lets face is that’s what "old" style advertising has always been about, you read magazine X, watch TV show Y, so you're the kind of person that might buy Z. It's all a bit last century.

Look at what’s going on now, Google revolutionised advertising because they match people who are actively looking to buy something with companies who are selling what they want.

What do Pandora listeners want? Music.
What kind of music do they want? I don’t know, maybe you could create some kind of Music Genome Project to match people with music they like :-).

Just sell the music.

The advantage you have is the fact we can't listen to exactly what we want when we want, if we hear a great new song we like we can't replay it. We are just going to have to buy it, and you're just going to have to sell it to us.

Maybe you can't make a living from selling music, or can't afford the investment in the infrastructure it would take to deliver an ITunes type service. But if you can surely this would be the best option.

I've been listening to Pandora for a few weeks now and hate the moment every morning when I have to switch it off, drive to work, and listen to commercial radio. I want to be able to buy my favourite tracks from you stick them on an MP3 player and take my stations on the road.

You are advertising; just start selling what you're advertising.

I would definitely stop using Pandora if audio ads became the norm.
Well, maybe...
One of the things I have been praising Pandora for to anyone who will listen is the quality of the visual ads. I'm constantly switching back to the player to give feedback, so I'm seeing the ads quite often, yet I'm not annoyed by them the way I am by most advertising. I think this is because 1) there is only one ad per page, and 2) the ads are well designed, fit in with the page structure, and often are actually attractive to look at. These two things make the entire page a cohesive whole that does not assault my eyeballs with a collage of clashing bumper stickers or hinder my navigation. If Pandora could achieve the same thing aurally that they do visually then I would probably accept audio ads.
I used live365 for a while, but the audio ads were so frequent, so repetitive, and so corny and poorly acted, that I couldn't stand it.
Some kind of quality filter, and a way to ensure I never hear the same audio ad more than twice a month would make the idea more palatable to me.
Is there an advertising genome project?

I like the idea of the ads only when the station is being switched by the user opposed to being sporratic through out the listening experience. You have to support the project somehow.

Personally, I welcome those less than a minute ads that they did with McDonald's. Dunno what these other freeloaders are complaining about, but those short plain-narration ads are so much better than those blatant, noisy ads you hear over regular FM radios these days.

What's with you guys? Isn't the free service from Pandora enough for you? They already give you their hands, you still want to ask for an arm and a leg, too? Give them a break, will ya?

Well,
The ad playing at the time of the station switching is a decent option, BUT this will sooner or later steer the Company polices towards making a specific station mix less likable in the long term, so - let's say- you will be more likely to switch stations once each 30 min.
Sure it is understandable that audio ads will bring in extra cash, but this does not make the listening experience more enjoyable with ads. Understanding a circumstance does not mean that we have to live with it.
Audio stream ads will evolve sooner or later into a full fledged ad campaign, not very much unlike the yahoo radio that I have abandoned wholehearted a long time ago.
My proposal :
Visual ads placed in the album cover area . Clicking their links would give the user extra credits for song skipping.
How about that ?

So I'm gonna keep this short. While I didn't hear the audio ad, the only reason I haven't paid to subscribe is that the visual ads you do show are done so well, that I actually WANT to see them. If you can find a way to integrate the audio ads in the same way you integrate the visual ads, then I see no issue with it. I wouldn't mind at all paying for the service, I just don't want to lose out on the currents ads. LOL, as odd as that may sound.

Building on the comments by Kandygurl and Daniel...

I am finding an interesting twist because of how Pandora uses the interactive nature of its service to create more ad impressions. With any type of advertising, I would like to be able to "repeat" the ad. Unlike many types of content, I suspect advertisers would have no issues with enabling this (in fact they would probably pay more). I find that when I switch focus to the browser window running Pandora, the advertisement frequently changes. Sometimes, the graphic looked interesting and I am bummed I didn't have a chance to read the ad before it changed. To me, Pandora is about playing an active role in my music experience - I believe that Pandora, with its engaged audience, is uniquely situated to offer a similar interactive experience when it comes to advertising.

As I consider whether to change wireless carriers to have access to Pandora on the Go, can I continue to have access to advertising while listening to Pandora on the Web? (Sprint's voice plans are more expensive than T-Mobile, making the effective cost to me for Pandora on the Go much higher than $3/month.)

In general, I happen to love advertising, especially when done "right." I am not fond of the repetitive ads I see in GMail. (That coffee guy...I don't even drink coffee yet I see his text ad everyday! Give me some relevant advertising, paleeze.) Also, I think the advertising in GMail's WebClips is an example of advertising done wrong - I never know if I'm going to see a clip from a blog I subscribe to or a random ad. I believe viewers prefer to know in advance when they will be presented with an ad, and where it will be. At least, that's been the case with newspapers, television, web search results, etc.

Go ahead with the radio ads. I know the RIAA has put you guys in a precarious place and Congress has done jack to help(but what else is new?)

I would certainly not mind ads being put on my stations, especially after you guys proved how well you can do standard web page ads.

I think that the idea of ads is fine -- but innovate. Pandora does so well web ads, I would have high expectations for how ads are delivered.

Internet Audio Ads are on the way. Soon I think it will be a regular part of surfing, past debating.

I figure you guys gotta make money too! I run websites, and its not cheap, hosting and development is a lot of time, a 10 second audio ad won't kill anyone nor would it make you anything like Yahoo as stated by others, they run long ads frequently.

I've just deleted this cr-APP from my touch. I don't need the Best Buy pop up constantly blocking album art, nor do I need a four year warranty. Nor do you need my real email address for this comment.

deleted...

I will have finally a have a reason to switch away from Pandora if these ads continue. So sad.

The visual ads do not bother me as it's obviously impossible to run this website without ad revenue. The audio ads on the other hand are VERY intrusive, bothersome, and buzz-killing. I just heard the first one which upset me enough to write this comment. I adore Pandora and it would be a shame to see it turn into another audio-ad based internet music station. Please keep Pandora standing out as the ultimate in streaming music and don't poison it with audio ads.

Hi folks,

I just want to thank everyone for chiming in about Pandora audio ads. Basically, we really want to stay tasteful and minimal with these and appreciate you all letting us know more about your experience with the audio ads.

We understand the sanctity of your listening experience at Pandora. We do, however, receive the bulk of our revenue from advertising and in seeking to maintain Pandora as a free service, must negotiate certain compromises.

Rest assured, there are no calculating "Mr. Burns" figures here trying to exploit our listeners! That's why we offer an ad-free Pandora experience for subscribers at the extremely modest cost of $3/month. Regardless, we are committed to keeping the free Pandora experience as unobtrusive as possible. Thanks all!

-A

"Ko at January 16, 2007 07:35 PM" posted about personalized ads based on the musical tastes of the listener. I agree. A short, personalized ad of this nature could be highly effective and, as he said, Pandora could potentially receive greater advertising support.

i just encountered my first visual ad. it was one for vodka.
I didn't even know about the audio ones.
while i find the visual ad i saw short and only slightly less intrusive than an audio ad. it made me uncomfortable enough to leave pandora and just go back to listening to yahoo music, and which i currently get commercial free.
what upsets me the most is the fact that you allowed an alcohol company to advertise. that's just sleazy, exposing your potentially underage listeners (who do you think is more likely to listen without a subscription, someone over 21 with a job or someone under 21 no financial independence?) to a company with ZERO concern for their health, safety, and scoff at the suggestion social responsibility.
Pandora is known for hyper-targeting, and you're allowing your listeners to be hyper-targeted as future drinkers? that really makes me feel cheap on the inside and I might consider emailing MADD about your ads.
I understand the need for revenue, but pick your bedfellows a bit more wisely?

@Steph--I totally understand your concern and that is the very reason Pandora uses targeted advertising. This is why we ask you to enter your year of birth when you register; no one under the age of 21 should receive such an ad.

Pandora seeks above all else to be responsible with our advertising choices. Please let us know of any further concerns you may have!

-A

If these ads appear with any regularity I will stop listening to Pandora.

It's terrible! How incredibly intrusive! I certainly will not continue to listen if this becomes the norm.

I just heard my first audio ad and I was horrified. I will not listen to Pandora if they play audio ads.

There are a million radio stations with streaming audio. If I want to listen to commercials I will go to one of them.

I really will abandon Pandora if they continue to run audio ads.

Thanks everyone for the feedback about the audio ads. We knew we were going out on a limb with these but we really want to know what everyone thinks, no holds barred.

Unfortunately, the reality is that Pandora needs ad revenue to keep our operation afloat. We totally understand the sanctity of the listening experience and we do offer an ad-free Pandora experience for $36 per year. This is a drop in the bucket and we've purposely kept the price low so as not to railroad our listeners or make the cost of subscription out of anyone's reach. Hope everyone appreciates our stance on this matter. Thank you and take care!

-A

I just heard the first audio ads I've ever heard on Pandora and I'm pretty bummed about it - I listen to Pandora while I work (I'm a graduate student and I do a lot of writing) specifically because I can cater my stations to the right mood I need to maintain to be productive. The ad I heard was for "CouponCabin.com" and the voice was really loud and obtrusive compared to the mellow, uplifting music I was listening to at the time. It was pretty shocking and disruptive.

I understand that you need to maintain revenue and to be honest I'm sorta surprised that Pandora is still this awesome and free. So let me offer some constructive criticism: I read somewhere that you were trying to keep these ads tasteful and were using NPR's ads as a model. Perhaps you could use a mellower speaking-voice, or even better (and maybe more powerful) would be to cater the ads to the type of music on each person's station - loud ads for loud music, quieter, mellower ads for mellower music? Just a thought...

Hey Destiny,

Thanks for this! Audio ads are unexplored ground for us so thanks for bearing with us as we explore them. And especially much thanks for this feedback. Noted!

-A

Ack! I just heard another (that's 3x so far today - in about 3 hrs of total listening). One more comment: turn them DOWN! I listen to my Pandora pretty loudly through my headphones, and man that last one almost jumped me out of my seat!

I was pretty dismayed by my first audio ads. I understand the reality, but I'm pretty disappointed.

Practically, you definitely need to turn them down - they're louder than the music, and that will turn them from a minor annoyance into an aggravation. Also, I just got ads with only 3 songs between them. (yes, it had been paused for about an hour. but it's still extra-annoying and disruptive. Also, it was the same ad - repetition is another one of those things that starts to multiply the annoyance level.

I don't know what this will do to my Pandora habit. I suspect I will still use Pandora, but possibly less often and certainly less happily - I primarily use it at work when I need to minimize external distractions, and the ads are very distracting.

I agree with others said. I am listening to this radio because I dont want the ads that yahoo and other radio stations make me listen to. I think you will become the other stations with the ads. I have been listening at work and I have heard the ads several times today. I think the visual ads are fine and that's all there should be.

Hi,

First off I love your service. Really well done.

I just recently begun to hear ads and it's a little bit obnoxious. I listen the softer peaceful stations, and then you have a quick speaking man jump in and rattle off some things, and then back to the calm music. It's odd. So yes I'd ask that you discontinue the in-line ads. Ads on the webpage are perfectly acceptable and tastefully done.

@destiny @miri
The volume levels were corrected toward the end of our most recent experiment with audio ads-- sorry about that. This was definitely a mistake on our end and not at all intentional.

@jessica @james
We understand that visual ads are less intrusive. They also offer less revenue. Our royalty rates-- even in the best case scenario with our latest rounds of negotiations with SoundExchange-- are becoming much higher than when we started. That's just an unpleasant fact. So our business model has to be adjusted. Again, as Alee has noted, we've tried to price our subscriptions that remove all advertising from Pandora as reasonably as possible. We're not trying to soak our listeners, just to cover our costs and survive as a business.

We hope you'll still value Pandora enough to allow us to continue-- either directly by subscribing or indirectly by watching or listening to an occasional ad.

Note that in the future, we'll definitely have more ad stock so it always won't be the same ad. And we're definitely looking at adjusting the content and tone of the audio ads in keeping with all your helpful feedback.

Thanks for all of the helpful feedback!

:) Lucia, from Pandora

It was nice while it lasted, couldn't believe the FOX tv ad, a deal breaker for me, as I think they are traitors to the country-back to my itunes list.

The reason I like Pandora the most is the fact that it doesn't run commercials. It is really annoying and I would much prefer not to have it. However, if you are really running low on funding, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do...

You'll be as good as Last.fm with audio ads, I'll have no reason to come here.

Ok. There are a lot of great posts here both pro and con so I'll be brief. The majority of people don't like ads. fact is one ad begets other ads and format changes etc. (Slippery Slope theory). Pandora free customers come here without stopping anywhere else but start ads and you may lose customers who think "well let me see what X is doing", they will also actively seek alternatives. We all need $ so here I prefer the non intrusive methods like pay-pal, e-mail etc. Those that use a toolbar etc; is there a way to pop an ad up when they change stations or respond to the - i'm still listening, button? Either way GREAT service and if you start advertising i'll still listen.

hey, i have told some hundreds of people and have been a long time listener to Pandora. i have been using pandora for years, and have told people what a great idea it is. now, with the ads, i'm sorry, but i have to say "goodbye" pandora.

I listen to Pandora at work everyday, all day and I love love love it. Thank you guys so much for providing this service to the world, I often get freaked out by how it knows what I like to listen to.

As for the ads, I don't mind them being played in the beginning. But in between songs-no.

Thanks!

I absolutely agree with Ko's suggestion that the ads be tailored to music choice. I just got hit by an American Idol ad today (my tastes run almost polar opposite) and I was so annoyed that I refreshed the page until it looked like ads I could stand hearing. Maybe there could even be a "thumbs down" for certain ads. I can tell you right now that no amount of American Idol advertising will make me watch it.
I understand the desire for audio ad revenue, but make sure it's in line with what made Pandora so great in the first place!

We use Pandora in our office and our patients always comment on what great music we play. I have told many, many people about Pandora. One of the things that make it stand out from the rest is that it is commercial FREE. I understand they need to generate revenue. I would rather pay a modest yearly fee rather than listen to commercials.

Being health care providers we hate the idea of having a MCDONALD's ad running in the office while we are trying to promote health and wellness.
If the commercials continue I will stop telling people about how great Pandora is and have to look elsewhere.

I love the service but really can't stand ads. I know you have to make money but I thought you were making your money on the visual ads and the music that I clicked on itunes to buy. I will find something else if these ads continue.

I really thought that you guys had something special going on with Pandora. I was in the process of converting entirely to Pandora for music. I actually had some hope in the music industry. As a result of these audio ads, I will have to find another way to listen to music again. This is a sad day for music.

Having a short one at the beginning is ok, and maybe even when you change stations, but definately not in between songs. I often use pandora for casual parties when it's not worth it to make a playlist. If there are ads between songs, I can't do this anymore. A better way to generate revenue would be a more prominent "buy this song/album" link. I've bought a handful of songs/albums after hearing them, but I always go straight to amazon.com or bn.com.

I hate having the audio ad suddenly pop up while I listen. If it continues I will stop using pandora.

I think the audio ads on pandora, if they continue, will kill it for me. What a great tool to find new music, but i would rather put my ipod on shuffle than have to listen to "the radio"
and hear about American Idol or mcdonalds dollar meal.

so sad. .. .

Hi folks,

Just wanted to sincerely thank everyone for the feedback, good and bad, that we've received about the ads. We want to know what folks are thinking and saying as this is new ground for us and we don't want to shut out opinion while we modify the audio ads (for their frequency, volume, etc.)

In our defense, I would like to put things into perspective and point out that moving into the realm of audio ads is in fact, our way of taking the hit in continuing to provide the option of Pandora as a free service to millions of listeners. This isn't a bait and switch situation--as we've grown in listener-ship and continue to pay royalties (significantly higher than radio) to artists for every song played, covering our costs with the same means employed in years prior is obviously an untenable position. These are realities that we have to face as a company.

That said, we totally understand the shock that some listeners have expressed with these audio ads. We just hope that folks can and will understand where we're coming from. We don't believe that we are selling out by doing what we have to do to stay in business as a free service...

Take care and good night,
A

I listen to Pandora because it is the very best of random shuffle. It's like listening to a friend's iPod.

I no longer listen to the radio because I got tired of the advertisements. Audio advertisements on Pandora will drive me away, guaranteed. I can listen to my own mp3 collection just as easily.

I understand completely if this is a necessary component of your business. I hope you can find a better way to increase your revenue.

I beg of you, do not turn to an audio advertising model. I understand the RIAA is breathing down your throats and you need to turn a profit some how, but I beg of you, don't interrupt the audio stream with ads. There has to be another way.

That said, if ads become the norm. I'll find something else. It'll be XM and yahoo all over, both of which I quit quickly for the vastly superior pandora.

Please, don't change.

Goodbye.

The one I just received was much, much better than other audio ads I've heard (on, say, Live365), but it was still rather unpleasant. My two-hour musical groove was suddenly interrupted--and I didn't even have to change stations to trigger it. I was jarred.

You guys need revenue, and you deserve to turn a sizable profit, given how much you please me (and just about everyone in every office I've worked in for the past year or so). That said, I really didn't enjoy the ad, and introducing them would reduce my usage of Pandora. Not eliminate it, not by a long shot, but I wouldn't be quite as eager to switch it on in the background, you know?

I like your idea of non-graphical versions of Pandora for desktops and the like. Perhaps streams connected with those applications could receive audio ads, and those using browsers would be able to continue to receive graphics-only ads?

Sucks that Pandora costs so much more in royalty fees than a terrestrial station. Darn it, Congress! Can you do nothing right? Anyhow, you gotta go with what works (Lefler's Law #36), Pandora, and I hope it can work out for the best for you *and* for your audience, myself included.

I just heard an audio ad for Lie to Me that led me here. It was surprising, and yes, somewhat disappointing, to hear the ad. That said, as others have expressed, I understand your need to generate revenue. If they were kept to an absolute minimum I could probably live with audio ads. I tihnk I'd rather hear the audio ad at the time that I switch stations and get it over with.

I've heard two audio ads today, if you decide to make it a permanent feature I'll likely be getting the paid subscription -- the $36/yr is worth it to me to not have my music interrupted.

Like everyone else, I too love Pandora's service. The Ads really caught me off guard, I never thought Pandora would do that to me. I like the option of subscribing, but the price is a little too high for me. I would love to be able to mute or skip the ads. I beg you Pandora, don't make me stop listening.

I definitely understand why you'd want to do audio clip advertising, but I'm not too hot on the idea.

With that said, if i'm going to complain about it I could always sign up for a paying subscription. (though i'd want more features/options/improvements in exchange - like maybe the ability to play a song on demand or replay a song you just heard)

Of course, if i could get Pandora on my G1, i would already be a paying subscriber :-)

I also hope that maybe you'll consider who you're advertising for. It might be difficult to vet all ads, but it would definitely be beneficial to keep your users' best interests in mind as the dollar signs start adding up.

As long as the audio ads aren't too long, frequent, and/or obnoxious, i don't think you'll turn too many new, non-paying users off from your incredibly awesome service.

Using the service since early 2005. Just heard the new fox ad and was devastated. I understand that Pandora and co. has to bring in review but I don't think this is the answer. This might drive me away if it becomes more of a standard. However eventually when I can afford a phone that supports Pandora I will gladdy pay for the commercial free yearly plan. Its totally worth it for how much music you guys bring me to. Mind you I also click on the regular ads simply to keep you guys going.

Please don't make this a standard, its going to hurt you guys more then you would think.

As a paying Pandora customer, I would not have expected to receive any advertisements. I echo the sentiment that you guys gotta get paid somehow, but I ponied up the cash (worth every penny) for commercial free radio.

Your service is great, please don't ruin it for us.

I think that they should at least put some information on the visible slide, ie where the song information is normally displayed, so we know what is going on.

I use your service quite regularly and just like many of the above comments I feel that audio ads would drive me away towards my mp3 collection.

A compromise: A "voice of pandora" one person, that does all the audio ads chimes in at the launch of a station or change of a station says something to the tune of "this station was brought to you by..." short and sweet, and nothing obtrusive, no deep voiced movie-preview narrators or sound effects.

Please, please, please don't change.

Pandora is different because it offers free, ad free(at least audio wise), music that anyone can listen to. I believe the ads are a bit intrusive to the audio experience. Lets say your listening to classical piano and suddenly an ad comes on about a new T.V. show. Well I don't want to hear about the T.V. show i want to hear classical and the ads are a bit startling if you are trying to relax after a long day at school or work. (true story) Well anyways i would prefer if you stuck with your old banner ads but you guys also need money to run pandora. If it were up to me i would pull the audio ads. I love pandora all in all though.

Pandora has been my favorite internet music radio service due to the technology put behind it.. Pandora decides music based on the trends it finds in a song's inherent qualities, while last.fm uses what other people are listening to, to find trends. The whole concept behind it, is better than other internet radio sites. I love being able to sit at my desk listening to great music while doing work. I discover great new music all the time. The audio ads are an annoyance to me while listening. If audio ads are necessary, please keep them short and infrequent.

Yeah I just noticed an audible ad, and its like I was just heart broken.

The trust that Pandora gained from me was lost in an instant.

There are too many of us who simply REFUSE to be advertised to. Pandora is just catching on, this is a really bad time to alienate your listeners. We will find somewhere to listen where we will not be insulted, which is what this dopey drivel does. We are not the lowest common denominator. Also, I'll pay for a lifetime subscription before I pay month to month.

sickened by the ads.

There is nothing worse than listening to some smooth music only to have some TV show ad interrupt the music.

Disgusting. If I wanted ads in my content, which I must say has broadened my musical horisons more than I thought possible... Then I would simply use one of the many many other services.

I certainly hope they go away. Because They are fingernails on a chalkboard. I will leave and go back to bringing my own music with me, and or find another source.

Take note of what happened to Napster. When they disappeared (not thier fault) everyone moved on to other things, and napster is now a footnote.

DONT sellout Pandora, and just make a quick buck and then loose everything in the longer run. Thats what all the businesses have done in the country. Sell out to make a quick buck, then fold up.

My $0.02 for Pandora.com. First off--love the service. Thanks. But to keep me as a listener you have to do a better job with the ads. I was in the middle of listening to relaxing Mozart, when suddenly this loud ad kicked in, something about a TV show--my mouse immediately hit the close tab button. I'm not against ads per se for such a great (free!) service, but you might tailor the ads. I'm a Mozart fan. Blaring ads for McDonalds? Fox TV? Come on. Learn from Google and target your ads. And your comparison to NPR is ill suited. They don't blare ads for Fox, they remind you who the sponsors are.

Why not a graphical ad? I noticed that the music stops playing after some time to check that your listening. Can't you do this more frequently with a "click to continue" button above a graphical ad? That way, when the music stops I can switch to the tab and close at my own pace, and still be forced to look at the ad. That would be much, much less obnoxious.

I've been listening to Pandora for months. If I hear another obnoxious-style ad (no McDonalds. no Fox. a new CD, maybe.) I will use a different service.

I have heard to "lie to me" ad many times now after a few days of listening. I use Pandora to work to, and really value the service. I don't mind an ad now and again, but the repetition of the same ad over and over is so irritating I may not listen anymore. It kicks me out of my concentration-space, and then I have to work to get back in. I agree with the last poster, that a graphic ad that you have to click on to continue listening would be far less disruptive. Less good but still better - don't repeat the same ad over and over. Surely there's a more creative way to do this?

Dear Tim and All:

Remember the one rule of Internet advertising:

Waste my space, but don't waste my time.

Axe them, and fast.

Do whatever you need to do to survive.

-Pete

I understand the need for additional revenue sources, and for pandora I would accept some, but it would have to be very few. Say two and hour at max! It took my by complete suprise when the ad came on. I must admit that the lack of audio advertising is one of the major draws of Pandora. I agree that the ads should be more tailored and keep the same general volume as that of the music. I do think that visual advertising is a much better approach, as it's much less intrusive. Perhaps cycle the visual advertising more often rather then just on user clicks.

Okay, I just about blew a fuse in my stereo speakers due to your audio ad. I had my system cranked up enjoying the music and I get an, 'American idol' ad that was seriously disappointing to say the least, and was not aware of pandora's need for revenue; it came as a complete surprise and I was not happy. Sign me in the against group.

I've been listening to Pandora since 2005, and while the audio ads are definitely a step up in intrusiveness compared to the banner ads, I do not mind them at all. I don't subscribe to Pandora since I only listen to it at home, and since I do not find the advertisements annoying I do not feel the need to pay for service. Therefore, I'm happy to be subject to these ads because I know it helps Pandora, which is providing an excellent and innovative service -- for free!

I don't know if this will be possible in the near future--I understand you have licensing restrictions--but I will happily pay Pandora to let me skip more than 6 songs per hour.

As a very long time listener, I am severely dissapointed in the audio ads, and as of now am looking for other music sites, or perhaps I'll just go back to winamp. I stopped listening to radio a decade ago because the audio ads were just too intolerable, now it looks like I'll be dumping Pandora as well. I'll check back in a few months to see if you guys have gone back to audio-ad free music listening, otherwise thanks for all the years of good music.

I just heard my first audio ad and found it to be very intrusive and disappointing to my listening experience. I understand the banner ads and pop ups but the audio interruption hinders greatly my primary purpose and choice for choosing Pandora over other services.

I agree with the more reasonable viewpoint that ads should be present but brief, direct, non-intrusive, and personalized.

Suppose there were some direct user control to the ads? Like say, I'm going to have a party, and I want a few hours with ads off. Or I am studying and need the right atmosphere...

Remember that scheduling is not as much as an issue here...you can assume that everyone is either listening to the station or the station isn't playing. So there's no need to time the ads just right----maybe the user has a bunch of ads and he can decide at what (limited number of) hours he doesn't want any. Or he can manipulate a little b-spline probability density graph of the ad distribution.

Another time concern: because the software always /knows what time it is/ for the user, try scheduling ads to fit certain moods. Best time to have a daily McDonald's ad is not at random! It's at mealtime! When everyone tends to be hungry. Also, as has been stated, think about the song the ad is going with (maybe only do this in the case of certain songs, like mainstream ones that can be documented easily).

Maybe even use interconnectivity between the audio and visual ads. Audio ad for mcdonald's coincides with a visual link to their webpage. Count the number of clicks on a visual ad without audio and the number of clicks on a visual ad with audio. subtract. the result gives you an idea of how effective the audio ad is. which gives you an idea of how un-annoying it is. if it does poorly, consider shortening it or changing its scheduling.

on a final note, don't cover up the song titles with visual ads. That happened a couple times for me. The album art, okay, that's acceptable....the song titles....not a good idea. Because if I just had it in the background and don't know what i just listened to....

Just heard my first ad, and it was after two songs. Very annoying... I'm skeptical of Pandora's apparent need for these intrusive advertisements. I will definitely stop listening if this continues, there are plenty of ways to find free music.

Also, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to make the 'are you still listening' interruptions more intelligent. I listen at work all day from 9-5, it should know that by now. If it's still on at 7 that's another story.

I just heard an ad for Lie to me.

When listening to classical music, this very loud ad just about made me fall off my chair. I understand the need for revenue, but I'm afraid this will likely end my use of Pandora.

I would upgrade to the paid version if you could reduce the number of repeated songs. Sometimes I'll hear the same piece 3 times in 1 day. I have trouble believing you can't avoid repeats more often with a reasonable collection of classical music. My own collection doesn't repeat for more than a week. Until that happens, I'm switching back to my own collection of flac tunes.

Best of luck!

I heard my first audio ad (actually, the same ad played twice in a row), and my initial reaction was "Back to hunting for internet music that isn't intrusive".

Distinguish yourselves from the rest of the market, or you will lose the share that you have since there are many alternatives with a similar ad model.

Since I found Pandora over a year ago, I have suggested it to many of my friends. If audio ads are permanent, then I will stop these suggestions.

Ridiculous! If you continue this I'm going elsewhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't listen anymore if you run ads; especially if you're going to promote garbage like McDonald's toxic food.

I just heard an ad for the first time and was so surprised by it that it made me smile. I understand the need for this type of advertising in order to keep the service profitable. Seriously, how many people are sitting at their computer watching the graphical ads while they listen? Every song played costs pandora money, and users want to complain about a 9 second audio ad? C'mon.

I encourage the pandora company to keep the ads as they are, a simple & short voice ad - no jingles, no dj style voice effects. I'm sure you'll lose listeners but...who cares? Pandora, like any business, needs to profit (or at least break even) to stay in business. Pandora should track the number of times a user views the graphical ad and create a profit ratio for that user. Every time the ratio drops below a certain point the user gets an audio ad. Just don't become like terrestrial radio and play an ad every 1 or 2 songs. Every 20 songs won't hurt anyone. Thanks for reading.

I for one do not need to be bombarded with an advertisement for every sense that i have. I can get over the visual ads since I am in marketing.

However, I will not support any audio advertisement that is on pandora. That being said, It really does not matter what we, the listeners, have to say as you have already made up your mind.

Just goes to show you as soon as you bloom enough to have advertisers seek you out, you are already old news.

The intertubes are alive with advertisement free alternatives, albeit maybe not as refined. Then again, it wasn't so long ago that pandora was the same way. As long as there is someone out there looking to do it better, cleaner and less cluttered, the internet will be volatile place to do business.

Go back to your roots, don't disturb the base. Good luck, pandora. I do believe that I will be looking elsewhere.

I think Aaron and Buckner's comments above are the most eloquent statements of support for and vitriol against the audio ads.

If Pandora never wanted to expand to the enormous listener base we have today, we would have kept our original paid subscription model. We would have never had more than a few thousand users. But in a time where people are increasingly loathe to pay for music (I write this as a broke musician, by the way) the best way to attract users and keep Pandora a salient entity was to offer it for free.

Obviously, that's why we opted to include visual ads in the first place. In the last year, however, we've experienced unprecedented growth (thanks everyone!!!) and had to accommodate this somehow by increasing our ad revenue. And so we have audio ads. If we're going to keep buying music, paying royalties, and offering customer service to millions of users for free, well... I and others like me wouldn't have a job and Tim wouldn't sleep!

We understand that folks have grievances with these and your complaints are not falling on deaf ears. As Tom mentioned in his post above we are tweaking the ads to be as tasteful as possible and have gone so far as to remove the ad for McDonald's. We appreciate that people are letting us know what they think and we hope that continues.

Audio ads are keeping us in business, pure and simple. I can't iterate this point enough. We're not selling our souls for a buck. We're trying to keep Pandora free for our listeners. We still offer an ad-free listening experience for subscribers at the obscenely reasonable cost of $3/month--two cups of coffee, I believe that is.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and feedback. I'll be going a week-long tour with my band next week and I'll probably be chiming in middle of next week if anyone has any thing to add. Sorry this was a long one but there was a lot to say!

-A

I listen to Pandora daily. I do not mind the visual ads but if you continue with the audio ads then I will stop coming to Pandora. Audio ads are the main reason I stopped going to shoutcast.com.

My problem is this: The beauty of Pandora is the ability to customize a station and set a mood. Audio ads ruin that mood very quickly. I know for one I am much more likely to just use my own mp3's and take advantage of itunes genius playlist to find that mood if I know it will be compromised on Pandora.

I know I am not alone in associating audio ads with websites that are overly obtrusive, and poorly designed, and known for spamming their visitors.

Please do not compromise on this one Pandora. Your selling point is superb quality, simplicity.

I trust you can find a way to create a maintainable revenue without losing listeners.

Ideally of course I'd prefer no ads at all, but as someone who uses the free version of Pandora, I can't exactly complain. I was very taken aback when I first ran into a Dove ad in music, but a quick online search turned up this post. I appreciate that you guys are trying to get preliminary user feedback before launching anything permanent, and if you do indeed go ahead with audio ads, I'd say modeling them after the NPR spots isn't a bad way to start. As long as the ads are kept subtle and to a minimum, I will personally continue using this software as I have had no complaints with it so far.

I think the ad's are just fine, I have heard the Above the Influence advertisement four times within the entire time of me listening to Pandora, a month I believe, and that is the only ad I have ever heard.

I was really dissapointed to hear audio ads. I understand that you guys need sources to make this service profitable, but I don't think I'll be the one to accept this change. I'll just find someone else.

I've got absolutely no complaint with the ads, and quite frankly anybody that does fails to understand that without a revenue stream we lose your service completely.

For those of you complaining about ads ask yourself one question: do you pay for using Pandora? If not quit complaining, someone has to. As long as it doesn't turn into the FM radio model where it's 60% ads and only 40% music we've got nothing to complain about.

I'm confused, you guys.

After H.R. 7084 became law, didn't that relieve Pandora from the crippling fees associated with the May 1 2007 CRB decision? I'll the first to defend Pandora for these ads if they're still paying RIAA's insane royalties, but I was under the impression that things were back under control now. What's the deal?

this sucks. Please please please remove the ads.

I'm trying so hard to just ignore the ads as they push products I'm not even remotely interested in. I just can't do it. It's them or me.

i heard and add on march 21 2009... this is HORRIBLE !!! keep it that way and your listeners will disapear (not only does it make your listeners hate your stateion, it also makes them hate the product that interrupted the music !!!) NOW i hate COUPONS CABIN

I just heard an audio ad from "coupon cabin" and was shocked and very disappointed. I understand your need to build revenue in order to maintain the quality and performance of your service but I, along with the majority of people taking the time to write to you feel that this is the wrong way of doing business.

-I wouldn't however mind hearing an audio add from an artist of the song I just listened to talking about a new CD or and upcoming tour.

This would be an appropriate and much less demeaning way to generate revenue for the Pandora service I have enjoyed for years.

Coupon Cabin's audio add did influence me, I vow to never visit their website or support them in any way because of this travesty!

how about sending gift cards to popular bloggers, or bloggers with your selected target as a audience. They would talk about it on their blogs, create a buzz, and readers would tell their friends. Cheap, effective (http://www.joinmeforbreakfast.com/2009/03/weird-things-happen-with-laundry.html), Oakley is doing too, and many other brands. It is not invasive, you reach early-adopters (usually bloggers are early adopters), people who WANTS to talk about your service and share it with friends.
I am actually working on a campaign for Pandora for my Copywriting class at my college, and I'm gonna present this idea.
Hope you find it interesting and worth reflect on it too.
Great job
Apo

I've had it with the ads. I'm leaving Pandora until you guys decide to drop them.
The only reason I used this service is because it WAS ad free.

While I believe everyone has a right to make a buck, nobody these days seems to know when say "Whoa!" when it comes to the flow of those bucks. That's why CEO's are making millions, even when their companies tank. That's why you're now paying more for medical insurance than your parents were for their first homes. Greed rules, baby.

Putting commercials on Pandora is a very black and white issue...you either do it, or you don't. Saying, "Oh, it's just one little commercial, who's going to bitch about that?" is naive in the extreme. All the previous entertainment venues which most of us now shun (television, broadcast radio, cable) all started off with "one little commercial" as well. Once Pandora's management sees positive cashflow from these "one little commercials", they'll just find more and more justifications for adding more...and the only thing that will halt that is when the numbers of lost listeners scares them into doing so.

So, since it's inevitable that this steady increase WILL happen (and if you don't think so, go look at television and broadcast radio some more, until it sinks into your childlike skull), the only logical solution is to let Pandora know that you will vote with your mouse, and seek your music elsewhere.

Goodbye Pandora. First, it took forever to release a Blackberry application. Second, Blackberry Storm STILL isn't supported. Third, I heard an audio ad today after skipping a song.

Looks like I'm going back to my iPod.

I, for one, am not ok with the new ad service. It is nice to hear that Pandora is seeking alternative revenue sources within the scope of radio advertising; however, I do not agree with the use of such ads and am rather upset I have to listen to them. I am switching to a different site for my music needs as a result of this new change; Pandora should have done a better feasibility study in regards to consumers wants/needs. After all, the ease of switching to alternatives for internet radio users is all to simple.

God awful. Please stop. I don't listen to commercial broadcast radio, and there's NO WAY I'll ever listen to commercial internet radio. I'm logging off Pandora for a while to see if the ads go away.

No to audio and pop-up ads! Please for once can we have radio that does not need to interrupt the music. That is why I enjoy Pandora. Please don't kill it!

My wife cannot listen to Pandora without buying something she hears here. Doesn't Pandora make money when people click the links to buy music? I think Pandora would be better off changing your model to make enough money from click-through sales and on-screen advertising than by playing ads.

I understand Pandora has to pay to play the music. "Why?" is the question. The pinheads in the music industry should be paying Pandora to play their music, not the other way around. They should learn to embrace new technology rather than fight it. Didn't they learn anything from music downloads?

@Jeremy--there hasn't been an official resolution to the royalties issue. the whole thing still hangs in the balance unfortunately.

@everyone who's still upset about the ads and thinks Pandora is trying to make a fatter profit--Audio ads help us cover our costs, pure and simple: I can't express this more emphatically. We're not "plumping" up on this revenue; it's expensive to run Pandora as a free service.

@Dustin--thanks for the support. I'm glad these words aren't falling on deaf ears!

Take care all...
-A

Bless all at Pandora for trying to make a profit and creating jobs. Pandora is the greatest thing that's happened to music since the MP3 file and you deserve to make a LOT of money. Your platform introduces people to new artists and helps more musicians survive and make a living and by selling ads you are able to improve the service and give more people jobs.

don't like the ads in Pandora? switch to Slacker Radio!

I think the audio ad's are a wonderful way to support pandora.

one small thing though...
I would LOVE a small lightweight pandora app that i can run with out any visual uglyness.
I use pandora insted of my itunes because it uses less ram and when using my computer for photoshop i need all the ram i can get.

but so far the programs i've been useing have been only slightly less ram hungrey as bloated itunes!

Thanks! i love pandora!

I'd like to see a no-ad music service like Pandora that charges 2 cents per hour. Seems like that would make more money than charging $36 per year.

Heard my first and last AD today. I do not want to hear the commercials. I am listening to another free music service now. When and if I hear the ads are gone I will be back.

The first time I heard an ad, it surprised me, but I don't find them particularly disruptive as long as they're done in the current style. If you started doing radio-style commercially-produced ads, I'd probably stop listening, because those are much more intrusive.

Honestly, a ten second mention of a product or service a couple of times an hour is a pretty small price to pay for what I get from Pandora.

I respect the need to generate revenue, but the commercials as they are...well, they make me want to give up Pandora. Total mood killer to be listening to a great song and then hear something about"mcdonald's" or "coupon cabin"! Drives me bonkers!

Ideally, I guess if banners, visual stuff is not enough, could Pandora at least as someone mentioned do contextual advertising, ie music related???

Do any ads that you need to other the McDonalds. McDonalds is CRAP!!

Some of the ads are okay though. If it helps improve Pandora do it. I would only play the ads once every 2 hours though. Not more or it will get annoying.

Today i heard my first audio ad on Pandora. Hearing an ad about Terrible food at 11am was tasteless to say the least. The as was placed at a time to elicit the thought of going to McDonald's for lunch but it definitely had the counter effect, in fact I have considered starving myself for the rest of the day because my once burgeoning appetite has now been completely deflated. This type of advertising is not a good method for creating happy Pandora users. This ad has completely disrupted my mid-morning to the point where I decided to find out why there was an audio ad and has led me to now write about my distaste in this new "revenue piss-stream."

I am a dedicated fan of Pandora and would hate to see it succomb to the needs of our captalist profit driven economy, profits are nice but happier customers are nicer. The reason I listen to Pandora is to escape the mass commercialism that is prevalent everywhere else I look and listen. Keep it audio ad free and you will maintain and grow your current customer base. It is what sets you apart in the homogeneous world of online radio.

For those who want commercial free listening with the same functionality as pandora, go to last.fm.

Just got my first ad. If I get another one today, I'm switching to last FM.

Audio ads? Seriously? Guys, what makes Pandora different from other services is that it doesn't have invasive ads. I suggest finding another way of generating revenue, such as using non-invasive (visual) ads. You could also try starting your own music purchase service and/or striking a deal with Amazon and iTunes such that Pandora receives a portion from every sale that came from a user clicking the "buy" links in the player.

Great app! For the first week, no ads.
Then, all of a sudden, I'm getting this pop-up ad with every single song:

"Click for a chance to win $250! Go ahead and give it a try."

It's annoying since I have to click CLOSE more than one time per song.

Is this an ongoing issue or a glitch?

Keep up the good work!

Audio ads are the reason I don't listen to broadcast radio (with the exception of NPR). Ads are obtrusive and simply kill the mood. I don't like being pulled out of a good jam session because some idiot wants to sell me mandarin chicken. Pandora used to be better than that. Now it's not. Pandora, you have failed me.

Audio ads are very annoying, especially at the interval you guys are showcasing them. Please use your innovative teams brain power to come up with a better way to do advertising. This crap sucks.

I do like the background ads when they aren't a basic banner or flashing. The Dove and AXE advertisements are a great example of putting a brand on a new site, but without the crazy flashing side banners. I like the cool product shots and background that matches their color and style requirements. Good idea!

However, I don't like the audio ads. They are disrupting and a little bit too frequent. We like listening to Pandora for the music.

I've been a Pandora listener for a long time, and have really enjoyed this service. I agree with the numerous people saying that the ads really distract from the music, and I certainly don't like them any more than anyone else.

However ... $3/month is way less than I give to public radio and they have week-long fund drives and periodic sponsorship messages throughout the day. It's also way less than I pay for Netflix every year to avoid having to watch commercial television.

But $3/month is all it costs for a year of ad-free music on Pandora. I hope I'm not the only one who thinks it's worth it.

The ads suck. I'll buy music from your site when I like it. Don't ruin a good music program. It will be like the change that happened to MTV in the 90s when it was so good in the 80s. Seriously, can't we get access to musician's work without having to deal with commercial crap?!

Very disappointed in the ads, short and tasteful as they are.

When I was pestering my congressmen about supporting you guys last year, I didn't think I was shilling for just another commercial radio service that happened to have a different delivery system. I thought we were standing up for something unique and special.

Pandora with audio ads just doesn't feel right. I think I'd lug a hard drive around and use smart playlists instead. If anything, they should only occur right before a station goes into "Are you still listening" mode.

If you have audio ads, I switch to my iPod. To force someone to see or listen to an add belongs to another era.

I need music here at work when I deal with alot of stress. I turned to Pandora so I could keep myself relieved and stress free while writing a script or fixing server issues. Well i now use a 32gb flashdrive with my music on it since i will not come back here after this posting. I do not like ads.

I can deal with all the banner ads you wish to put up. I thought reskinning your appearance to match the ad was also a great execution of an internet ad campaign. It is one of the not obnoxious ad methods I have actually paid attention to. However, I find the audio ads exceptionally disruptive. I personally make an effort to boycott products advertised in annoying spaces or manners and spread the word to friends when there is a viable alternative - and you can count on those audio ads played here to receive the same treatment. If you really insist on an audio ad, then I would say it should only be played at first load or first load per station in a session. Once played, it should not repeat until the next login.

Another alternative revenue source I would pay for is bundled downloads of say 20 of my favorite songs or a favorite album along with 6 months ad free - but not at an Amazon/Itunes rate. I will not pay $1/each song. Host your own service for indies and come up with sensible prices.

I have discovered more music at pandora than through any other single source. I would hate to turn away from it, but I will be looking elsewhere if these ads continue. I felt Pandora was unique, and I respect your need to pay the bills, but only if you continue to differentiate yourselves from the competition. If you become just like every other radio station then you can die right along with their broken business model and your algorithm won't save you because I would imagine nearly everyone on here is savvy enough to make their own playlist without ads on their portable devices and/or use a torrent.

I'm yet another saddened and aggravated long-time pandora listener. I understand the need for revenue but have always valued Pandora because they didn't force ads in my ears. Eyes ok but it's nauseating to be jolted into some tasteless product delivery in the midst of a productive writing or research session. My research aims may need to move to other commercial-less radio options.
Any hope in Pandora doing away with this or at least decreasing the number of audio ads?

Just caught my first ad; startling and unsettling. I agree: if they continue, I will leave.

I am old enough to remember when cable was advertisement free. No company is able to withstand creeping incrementalism when it comes to revenue. Indeed, some think a brand is wasted if it is not flown into the ground as part of the natural trajectory of maximizing financial return.

So it will be with Pandora. So long and here's looking forward to the next startup!

I have bought a lot of CDs after finding new artists on Pandora. On FM radio these days you can't even find out what artist just played! The music industry is on a path to mutually assured destruction.

No! to audio ads!

Yes! to picture, not video, ads on the page normally showing the album cover picture of the performer. You need the ad revenue.

Put the performer info at the top and clearly readable, perhaps 20% of the visual space, then use 80% of the rest for whatever the advertiser wants.

Then what about being able to page to other picture pages which will tell more about the advertiser's wares, so that once you have captured the eyeballs of the "customer" you can have him see what's so great about the advertiser without interrupting the reason for listening to Pandora, AUDIO without commercial interruptions!

Show him the advertiser's web site with a method for recording counts so web clicks can be supplied to the advertiseing salesmen!

If the ads keep Pandora alive, then keep it coming. I don't mind brief introductory commercials or side popup ads here any more than on other internet service providers. Music Genome offers an experience exponentially better than what I can DJ from my own music or find elsewhere online. Bravo. Offer genuine value and get paid for it. Should be expected. Otherwise the complaining pundits of the music experience should realize the amount of time and money they would expend trying to replicate the Pandora experience. If you want something free, go outside and take a big breath of air and be happy.

Ok this really ticked me off today. THERE WERE 4 Video Ads in a space of 1 minute. Wtf pandora. Tis a shame that a once good site has gone downhill really fast. I don't mind an ad here and there but every time I switch stations? That is awful and to make it worse video ads? Just been getting worse and worse. One video ad per hour and do a max number of ads and not ads per switching station. You guys are getting overrun by ads and I'm done with your site for a while.

Doo doo! Bah bah! *BANG!*

If I have to listen to that damn WB Record Scratchers ad again I'm physically going to throw my laptop across the room. Once in a while is fine, but after every three songs? You're on very thin ice with me, Pandora.

Your ads are becoming MUCH more prominent now. Not to mention abnoxious?! This monotone voice telling me that thanks to *insert website* I can get tips on how to enhance my relationship?! Really Pandora?
And then this WB record b**sh*t?
I am very afraid you will be losing faithful followers very soon, if you're no better than Yahoo music anymore. And I may be the first.

There are way too many ads now. I was getting an ad about every 15-20 minutes now im getting an ad everytime i want to listen to a different station. It would almost be more beneficial to go back to Yahoo.

The audio ad thing is getting pretty bad right now. You're obviously beginning to scare customers away, QUICKLY. I'd recommend a less intrusive advertising medium (think Google style advertising, NOT Yahoo style!).

Here are some ideas:
1. Video on the right side of the page
2. Option to buy an artists song at Amazon/iTunes (I don't know if they have an affiliate program or not, so this might now work)
3. Non-Intrusive "Banner" type links in-between songs (these are currently shown, but with an annoying audio ad that should be removed)
4. More push for a cheaper "pro" version (test the price and marketing to see if you can get enough subscribers to justify the lower price)

Bottom Line: Pandora is becomming spammy (audio ads). If you want to be like Yahoo, you will be destroyed when the first competitor comes along. If you want to be like Google, get creative and less intrusive, and your subscriber base will never jump ship.

Good Luck!

first time i got the ads, was this mornign on my desktop. and let me just say I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND OUT THIS HAPPENED. DON'T RUIN THE MUSIC EXPIERENCE. Ever since i got a Palm Pre, i've been using Pandora on my phone more than the Music Library i added to the hard drive of the phone. I REALLY LOVE THE PANDORA SERVICE. So, much to the point i stated above that i've been using it more that the music i already have, that i WASN'T USING MY ITUNES ANYMORE. You pick an Artist and it plays Artists associated with that type of music or that Artist. Put in "Atmosphere" and it plays Underground Hip-Hop. Just keeps playing, no pauses, no ads, no bulls--t.

Anyways... ADS plain and simple are REALLY REALLY REALLY annoying. i hate going to watch a video on you tube or another site and theres a 15 sec commercial. "LIKE FK OFF I GET ENOUGH OF THAT ON TV ALREADY." SUBTLE ADS IN THE BACKGROUND OR BANNERS THAT DON'T INTERUPT THE MUSIC OR MAKE ME CHANGE A STATION BECAUSE "ITS TAKING FOREVER TO LOAD", WOULD BE COOL. MAKE YOUR MONEY PLAYA. BUT WHEN YOU START INTFEREING WITH THE CONCEPT THAT MADE PANDORA WHAT IT IS, YOU WILL LOSE PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AND I'LL HAVE TO GO BACK TO MY CRAPY ITUNES. PLEASE DONT LET THAT HAPPEN. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

p.s. someone posted a paypal donation idea, and if lets say a Rhapsody idea, maybe like a $5/ month even $10/month(AS LONG AS THERE WERE NO ADS.) JUST STRAIGHT MUSIC.

Quit the NLCS advertisements. I'm getting them every 15 minutes. There are other free music stations without the crap audio advertisements. Pandora was amazing when I first started using it two years ago. Since then it has gone the way of everything else and lost its origional intent and consumed by profit and greed.

The new video ads are terrible. To show them at each station change is even worse. Today - the new Dos Equis beer ad manages to creep along and take over one minute to jerk and spit along, while running my CPU up to 100%.

This type of advertising will make me start to search for an alternative. Not only is it invasive, but now that it's interfering with my comp. hardware, I'm getting frustrated.

I don't mind ads at all. But it's becomming a nuisance and I've used Pandora significantly less now than I use to seems that Pandora is overflowing with ads now. The ads that used to be on the side are now half way through the box where it shows what music is playing.
I don't mind ads at all...Just don't OVERDO it...please it's ruining the site.

Audio ads after every 4-5 songs. I've about had it, it's just turning into normal radio where my music gets constantly interrupted my music.

I understand the need for ads to pay for this service, but audio ads are not the way to go - it's time to search for a new alternative.

dealbreaker, I dont listen to commercial radio- the point of radio advertising is to be distracting otherwise you would not notice it. There is so much commercial free music out there that I can live without pandora if you dont find another way. I havent listened to pandora in years now- I just dropped by to see if you had reconsidered. nope. peace out.

Is it just me, or do more and more ads keep popping up. Usually it's an annoying, effeminate guy with the whiny, clogged-up sounding nose talking about his medical practice employees using a visa card. UGH. What's the 99cents for ???

I agree with all the above posts. The adds on this website have gotten so obnoxious that I have started listening to music on IMEEM. Music is free there and no adds! So thank you pandora for ruining your on website and reputation.

Once a day was fine. I didn't mind the ads at first but if I hear one more Clear ad I am going go crazy. My friends turned me onto Pandora because of its unique style and ability to play great music, not to listen to an ad with every channel or song change I make. I understand you need to generate revenue somehow but this many times?

I fell in love with Pandora years ago! One of the main factors of my admiration was the fact that there were no commercials. Then corporate greed got in the way and the lawyers put an end to allowing Pandora to offer music as it originally had. For a moment the site was even suspended. I remember writing to Pandora offering to testify in any court preceding, that by playing music based upon the Genome Project, that I had actually bought many new albums from artists I wouldn't have otherwise heard on normal radio stations. This sort of shows that the record industry stands to gain from allowing Pandora to flourish without all that crazy licensing malarky. At any rate, I am saddened by the commercialization seeping into the once music only radio feed. For this reason, I would definitely rather pay the annual fee so that I may listen to music only. Thank goodness this option exists! Only it would be much better if the stats were provided that showed how much more commerce there is in relation to clicks to buy songs through the Pandora interface. IMHO, it might stand to reason that the outfits that originally sought to make Pandora pay, ought to be paying Pandora.

Thank you for your service. (now if only you would offer the iphone app to play in the background like the ipod- *sigh*)

This was back in the good old days when Pandora was way more amazing.. I understand you needing revenue but everytime i move my mouse i have to watch a STUPID video! and they couldn't be any longer!! why can't they just be short and sweet and to the point! why pandora why did you have to ruin your perfect plan

Great service and no audio ads was what made pandora special. Very unhappy with the latest addition.

The prevalence of audio ads makes me sad. I can't listen to pandora during sex anymore. No more turning it on at a friend's house during dinner or board games (and turning them on: to pandora). At this rate, I will probably leave pandora behind.

ARRRGH!!! The audio ads are killing Pandora quick! I can't believe how bad it is now. I would rather listen to my neighbor's leaf blower (just as obnoxious) than these intrusive ads.

You blew it....I DETEST commercials!! WHY did you have to ruin what was a great thing??
I know you are needing to make money but COMMERCIALS FOR GODS SAKE??
Now they are what...every 3 to 5 songs???
Way ta go guys....you really are boneheads.

Fewer Ads, keep playing when I'm afkb

I am in the Advertising industry and I understand that everyone wants to find a new creative way to advertise. We are always looking for uncharted waters and new ways to get our product or services out to the masses. As a marketing professional I may be interested in advertise with you. However, as a fan and client of Pandora I will be forced to stop using you services. As a user graphic ads are tolerable but audio ads are deplorable. Please keep Pandora free of audio advertising.

I REFUSE TO BE ADVERTISED TO! The split second an ad comes on, I kill my web browser and shut Pandora down, the reload it. I'd rather spend 10 seconds reloading than spend 10 seconds being advertised to. Pandora, get it through your heads: you've killed your great project. Are you guys even reading any of these posts? Do you even care about all of your local followers, or are we some social/marketing experiment?

The ads seem really really frequent these days, and the ads themselves are just as obnoxious as radio ads. I just wished Last.fm worked on my machine...

I will stop listening to Pandora if you keep playing audio ads. They are loud and obnoxious!

I've been listening for 15 minutes and already heard 3 ads. Either my system is jacked or this one ad a day idea has gone in the trash. I hate it.

If the audio ads continue, I will no longer use pandora. period

I don't mind ads so much, but some of the ads you guys are running are really, really obnoxious. Some listeners use the radio to relax, and someone suddenly yelling 'PROGRESSIVE!!!' is really infuriating.

So, I think you guys should be stricter about the ads: only normal volume voices, no effects or music.

The commercials have become soo annoying that I had to google it to find out WTF is going on...and this blog is what popped up. I guess congratulations are in order that you have become so popular that advertisers are knocking on your door. Unfortunately, now pandora is nothing special. Why don't people that run these sites get it that people come to them BECAUSE WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING COMMERCIALS. I was just going to cancel my sirus radio subscription but after the drive into work and 5 separate commercials, I decided enough is enough.

People have to make money I guess but at the risk of sounding dramatic, the constant bombardment of advertisements really drains the soul. What else do I have to actively ignore in daily life?

Just tried Pandora again after a long time away and I'm sorry but I can't deal with the audio ads. I'll be switching to one of the other free streaming options...

I didn't know pandora had ads. I used to listen to it on/off a year or two ago and I thought it was awesome that there were no ads. I started using it again and now everytime I change station an ad comes on which happens a lot because you can only skip a number of times per hour or something like that and I find myself skipping too much because well...I'm just really picky.

But this is really annoying. I almost feel tempted to go back to digitally imported since thats what I used to use for internet radio before I found out about pandora besides last.fm and imeem. maybe i'll try last.fm again

I would just like to say the the Progressive Insurance ads are terribly intrusive. My usual reaction to them is immediate defensive anger. Once I realize the source of the commercialism that has interrupted my zen state, the hair on my neck relaxes and I sink into depression and nausea. Having this experience happen once per day is barely worth the service of Pandora. Actually, it's well worth it, but I feel like it would be easily eliminated. Very easily. I know a guy who offers nice discounts on "taking care of" annoying spokespeople.

In all seriousness, if you folks demanded advertising that is on the same level of creativity and genius as the music that is playing, then ads would not be an issue. The way it is right now, each ad pulls you back to a reality run by corporations instead of artists.

It is hard to believe all the complaints about a few commercials. If you don't want to listen to a commercial, how are YOU planning to support the Pandora business so it can survive? I chose to be a subscriber for less than 10 cents per day and I use Pandora's links to buy my music on iTunes. In return for my dime, I don't have to listen to one commercial and receive the higher quality stream.

without ads, i knew this was too good to be true.. wondering how long it will last.. bye pandora, it's been nice knowing u!

What he heck is going on? I thought I found my true love with Pandora, I would hold you guys up, tell the world about how amazing you guys were.

Now...after hearing a commercial for the first time, I actually took the time to come complain, and I am the last person to ever complain. Eventhough it is a short commercial, it totally killed the listening mood, and made me look like a loser infront of my guests. If this continues, I will be forced to leave Pandora forever

PLEASE DONT DO THIS TO US PANDORA....PLEASE!!

:(

If we must endure audible ads, can you please give us a way to turn them off for a 4 hour period? I'll pay for it. Just enough time for a party or awesome love making which is when my husband and I were sadly rendered frigid by the first audible ad (I'm not kidding, we both shouted "NO!" at the same time we heard the Walmart ad. Not only were we bummed about the ad, it missed its demographic target by a mile, which made us feel even more icky.)

I've been a Mac user since the first SE and I felt the same way about Pandora as my Macs - I lOOOOVVVVEEE them and I will pity those who chose otherwise. Those ads made me think, sigh, Pandora just succumbed to the PC guy.

Please give us control, I'll still love you but not as much if the audible ads must continue

Hate them! Please don't do this. I want non-stop music. Must corporations seep through every pore of our lives??

I usually don't weigh in, but Pandora has been such a joy, I hate to see what makes Pandora unique be ruined for some extra money. If it is money you need, you could...

Ask the listeners who enjoy so much to make a donation.
Sell "premium" applications for iPod touch or iPhone to keep audio ads out.
I often buy music hear on Pandora. Do you make any money from that? Could you?
Sell a subscription to those of us who want to stay commercial free.

Stay unique. If you go the way of Yahoo music, or anyone else, then what makes you different? It's about the sound. Audio ads ruin the experience and joy.

Was at the gym listening to some great music until an audio ad came on for something I have absolutely NO interest in at all. It was the most intrusive thing ever since I had no idea it was coming on. It even started giving some login code to track their marketing efforts and it jsut backfired so hard. It flustered me and had to quickly shut it off before it could finish the ad to sell me on something again I have no interest in at all. If you cant offer target demographic advertising and have something that interests me then forget it. Even then actually I dont want it. I will not pay the $36 to updgrade nor will I listen to the ads so I guess this is the end of the road for me and Pandora. Off to the next one until they also too have to become millionaires and forget about just sharing music with others over the internet. In regards to the graphic ads they are fine...and in fact because they are choosing ads that are in my general vicinity I find them sometimes interesting and do click on them. I understand you have make revenue somehow just please don't do it via unannounced audio ads. I am a vegetarian and do not eat Mcdonalds...if that ad were ever to interrupt my music at the gym I will throw the phone and switch back to the ipod so fast. Especially McDonalds...you guys are genius's for choosing the worst company to use in your test. Just the same old juggernaut McDonalds there to get into your life again somehow. Were going down the tubes!

I for one will boycott any company that uses their adds on Pandora. Good-bye Jack in the Box, love your TV commercials but don't interrupt my tunes. In addition I will start using other online music sites that do not use adds for revenue. I don't mind the occasional visual, but don't ever stop the music.

I heard a Wal-Mart ad when I was listening to Pandora on my iPhone. I went to streaming/internet music to get away from this sort of thing. I will NOT tolerate ANY sort of ads during listening to music. Period. Remove them!

A visual advertisement on the Pandora website is one thing, and if it's something that interests me I might actually click the link and check it out. But when I get barraged by audio ads all day while I'm listening, my natural reaction is feel negativity towards those companies being advertised. Because they interrupt and cause me annoyance, I ad them to my list of companies to never support. I HATE the audio ads and usually refresh the page when they come on.

Will be discontiue using Pandora. I get a commercial every other song. I just got started listening and I got a condom commercial, a dove commericial and a Clash of the Titans movie trailer and I haven't even been listening for ten minutes. What a rip-off.

This is sad to see... Pandora was an exciting part of the web for a year or so.

They even seemed to be interested in feedback.

But now... an Add-Ridden Corporate Wasteland.

Business Plan:

(1) Provide an awesome service, bear any financial losses as long as you can get millions of people hooked.
(2) Once millions of people are hooked, change the awesome-but-financially-unprofitable service into a bland-profitable service.
(3) Hope enough people are not turned off by the bait-and-switch and continue using the service so you can turn a profit.

Well, let's see how that works out for you, Pandora.

If commercials are playing in addition to graphic ads I will no longer use Pandora.

I detest audio junk.

I have listened to Pandora for years, ever since a friend turned me on to it. I tune in a couple of times per week. But recently, I have become disgusted with Pandora’s constant onslaught of AUDIO ads. There's a new one every 3-5 songs. I now detest Fifth-Third Bank because of their constant intrusions into my day. I understand the need to generate revenue so I have no problem with the VISUAL ads. But the constant barrage of unsolicited marketing interrupting my audio stream has become unacceptable. This is the very reason I don't listen to broadcast radio.

With that said... Goodbye Pandora. You have lost another loyal listener.

I hope you heed the warnings offered by your followers before your once great service fades into oblivion.

Hello Pandora,
The audio ads are absolutely terrible. You have removed one of the things that made Pandora unique.
What you sell, what is absolutely amazing: the genome idea is what can make people buy the service, not the fact you are forcing us to upgrade in order to listen to the music without the the audio ads.

I listen to pandora primarily to run and work out. I've had two ads run and my reaction is strongly negative. I feel betrayed and I would quite purposefully never purchase any item that so rudely interupted and intruded on my experience. If it continues I will go back to my ipod.

Very sad with the ads, this is why I have been listening to Pandora radio. I will be looking for a new radio like this without ads.

This is the end of Pandora...inevitable I suppose, but it sucks. Pandora was such a great thing. I will abandon it the second I find something else. Screwww haiti! Donate for a TRULY FREE PANDORA!!

I read what was said above and I understand the need for revenue to keep the service afloat. However, the last time I turned on pandora, it played 3 audible commercials in the space of 9 songs. This ad/song ratio is worse than radio, which doesn't require an internet connection, doesn't require a 'are you still listening?' click, and is more accessible in more locations.

I don't listen to commercials, so I turned off Pandora and deleted my account.

Thank you for the good tunes in the past, though.

I think ads are what is turning off customers from Pandora. I personally have a strong disliking for them, but since I am patient I do stick it out by muting my computer everytime one comes on. My friends, however, have left pandora for other sites because they happen too frequently. Hopefully you all begin to incorporate other types of ads or my patience may run out and you will lose another customer. Keep Pandora simple, that's its charm