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 was initially shocked to hear the audio commercial, but it did not bother me. It is nice to hear that I only heard it once a day. I didn’t even notice that. I just remember hearing it every once in a while when I changed stations. But it was no big deal. One thing that might be nice is if you could see the song that is going to be played next while you listen to the ad. When I change stations I’m really anxious to know what song it will play first. If you could hear the add and still see what song was coming up, that might be a nice feature. Then you’d have 10 seconds to tell your friends or your wife that a good song was coming up.

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.