5 questions on stations, collections, and shuffle

[spjensen]

I've been trying to figure out how to use this service, and it would help me to know if A. the stations I find are created by Pandora, or other users like myself. B. Can I add a song from a station to my collection or favorites without adding the entire station (which is what seems to have happened)? C. When I attempt to add a whole station I found, why is there only 10 songs that just repeat? D. Why is it that when I have finally muddled through creating a playlist and I put it on shuffle, it's not playing the songs randomly. Oh it plays it out of order on the list, but it always plays the same songs out of order, in the same pattern, and sometimes repeats those songs before it plays other songs. Finally, E. How do I get pandora to open on MY choices instead of a random song? When I open the app on my phone, it just starts playing something I can't figure out what, but it's not music I've favorited, and when I try to get to my favorites, I am taken to another song that I didn't favorite. I have to "go back" several times before I finally get to something like a song browser, and then I have to mess around there trying to find MY stuff. What's the shortcut to just go to the song browser on an Android device?

[TannerPandora · Accepted solution]

Hi @spjensen thanks for posting to community. 

I've listed your questions below, I hope you find this useful. 

A. the stations I find are created by Pandora, or other users like myself.

Stations are radio stations created for you by Pandora, guided by your Thumb feedback. While listening to a station, you can Thumb Up or Down songs from the Now Playing screen to help us learn what to play next.

If you are looking for something new or want personalized recommendations, try Browse. This is where you can find all of our curated stations along with other music we think you'll love.

Genre stations, such as "Today's Top Hits" or "Love Songs" are stations created by and curated by Pandora, and they behave a differently than your own personalized stations. It is not possible to add variety or edit the name of these stations. If you'd like to have those options, try to create a station based off of an artist or song in that genre instead, or use Pandora Modes for a fresh listening experience.

B. Can I add a song from a station to my collection or favorites without adding the entire station (which is what seems to have happened)?

To add a track, from the Now Playing screen, tap the icon (. . .) below the album art, then press (+) Collect to collect the track. 

To add other songs or albums, search to find what you are looking for, then tap the add icon (+) on the song or album page.

A checkmark will appear to confirm your selection has been added. To remove collected items, simply tap the checkmark that replaces the add icon.

C. When I attempt to add a whole station I found, why is there only 10 songs that just repeat? 

Pandora stations adapt with every song to try to find the right music for your stations. Without Thumb info, however, Pandora has to guess what songs you like or don't like, which can often lead to the problem you've described.

Keep in mind, Thumbs are station specific, so please feel free to Thumb up and down accordingly. Giving a Thumb rating on one station will not affect any of your other stations.

This also means that you can use Thumbs to craft the sound you are trying to achieve and vary the playlists from station to station. For example, you might want to give a song you like a Thumb Down if you think it will bring in a certain type of music you'd prefer to not have on that station. Don't be afraid to rate songs (you can always edit your stations later if you don't like the direction your station is going or if you'd like to mix things up).

Finally, you can use Pandora Modes to customize your station experience when you're listening on our website or your mobile device. You can pick different modes like Crowd Faves, Discovery and Deep Cuts. Be sure to Thumb Up songs you liked to inspire similar songs to play.

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Additionally, if you'd like more variety in your stations, I'd recommend our Add Variety feature, which will introduce a wider variety of music to your station based on each of the artist or song "seeds" you add.

To add variety to a station:

1. From My Collection, visit your station list.
2. Tap on the name of the station you'd like to edit. 

• If you're a Pandora Premium subscriber, this will take you directly to the station's "backstage page." 
• If you're a free listener or Pandora Plus subscriber, this will start your station, so tap either the Thumb or small "i" icon in the upper right corner of your screen to continue to the station's backstage page.

3. From the station's backstage page, tap on the Edit icon (the small pencil to the left of the play icon) to edit your station, and scroll down to Station Created From.

4. Use the + Add Variety button to search for an artist or track to add as a seed on your station.

Keep in mind that each seed you add will inspire hundreds of other songs, so a little variety goes a long way.

Note: you won't be able to add variety to your Thumbprint Radio station or to genre stations curated by Pandora. If you'd like more information about why, let me know.

To remove variety from your station (a "seed" that you've added in the past):
Follow steps #1 - 3 and then tap the small (X) beside the item(s) you'd like to remove.

D. Why is it that when I have finally muddled through creating a playlist and I put it on shuffle, it's not playing the songs randomly. Oh it plays it out of order on the list, but it always plays the same songs out of order, in the same pattern, and sometimes repeats those songs before it plays other songs.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to replicate this on my end. However, I find it helpful when shuffling a playlist, I often start the playlist with a random song and then press shuffle. This immediately changes the song, but does mix things up. 

Feel free to let me know if you continue to have trouble with this. 

E. How do I get pandora to open on MY choices instead of a random song? When I open the app on my phone, it just starts playing something I can't figure out what, but it's not music I've favorited, and when I try to get to my favorites, I am taken to another song that I didn't favorite. I have to "go back" several times before I finally get to something like a song browser, and then I have to mess around there trying to find MY stuff. What's the shortcut to just go to the song browser on an Android device?

Currently, this is not a feature of Pandora. If you'd like to see this feature on Pandora, I would recommend visiting our Feature Request board to post your idea or like an idea from another listener. 

In the meantime, I suggest sorting your content when you first open the app, you can sort your content from the My Collection page.

Select the caret (the down arrow) on the far right side of your screen and from here, you can sort by Albums, Songs, Stations, Playlists or Artists. 

Please note that you can't currently sort your collection by A-Z; only Artists are listed alphabetically by default at this time.

I hope this information was helpful. You can find more information about Pandora Premium on our Help Page here. 

Thanks again for being part of community. 🎧