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Improving Classical Station Selections

trw6142
Underground

I am thinking of upgrading to a paid Pandora subscription, but I have real problems with your programming. I like to mostly listen to Classical Music, but your programming really is very poor! In several instances I have heard the same composition three times in a row. Sometimes I have heard the same composition by the same composer and artist 2 times in one hour. And I don't know how many times I have heard 4 or 5 selections by the same composer, in a row. Ask any radio station's Music Director, and they will tell you that is BAD PROGRAMMING! I was a music director for many years. It is very frustrating to hear such poor programming parctices!

Also, it is very disturbing to be listening to a gentle rendition of a classical selection, and then be shook awake by a commercial blasting away at 2 to 3 times the decibel level of the music! That is just unforgiveable Enginering and Production practice.

I realize Pandorra doesn't want to hear from your listeners, or you would provide easier contact information. But if you want me to pay for a subscription, you'll need to address these issues.

 

Moderator Edit: Changed title for clarity

 

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1 Solution

Accepted Solutions

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks so much for your feedback, and welcome to the community, @trw6142! 🎧

Hearing what our listeners have to say is extremely valuable to us, and it means a lot that you care enough to speak up. In the meantime, I moved your post over to the My Collection board to keep the community organized.

++

Loud Advertisements:

We know ads can be disruptive to the listening experience. One thing to keep in mind is that music has a much wider dynamic range (the difference in volume between the softest and loudest parts) in comparison to ads. As a result, only the loudest parts of songs may sound as loud as commercials (which by design have little dynamic range).

Dynamic differences between music and ads can also vary based on the genre of music or when the track was recorded. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to change the volume of ads dependent upon the station on which they play.

I would recommend upvoting this existing feature request to choose the types of ads you'd like to experience during your listening sessions.

++

Classical Tunes:

We are continually working on ways to present classical music on Pandora radio stations in a more appropriate manner.

On that note, we now have a station dedicated to full classical works that you can check out here.

Also, you may be interested in this article from our blog discussing some interesting things about the evolution of Pandora's classical selection.

Feel free to check out this these steps regarding adding variety to your stations. Running through these steps may help with the repetition you're experiencing.

++

Contact Info:

We do have a User Support team that can always be contacted here. Sharing your experiences in the community is also helpful, in case others are experiencing similar issues.

I'm also happy to have someone from our User Support team reach out to you via email to offer assistance with your stations. Let me know if you'd like to me to have some contact you directly. 

Thanks again for your valuable feedback! 

Alyssa | Community Manager
Join the discussion in Community Chat
Check out: New community badges
Share yours: Q: What holiday song could you listen to on repeat?

View solution in original post

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7 Replies

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks so much for your feedback, and welcome to the community, @trw6142! 🎧

Hearing what our listeners have to say is extremely valuable to us, and it means a lot that you care enough to speak up. In the meantime, I moved your post over to the My Collection board to keep the community organized.

++

Loud Advertisements:

We know ads can be disruptive to the listening experience. One thing to keep in mind is that music has a much wider dynamic range (the difference in volume between the softest and loudest parts) in comparison to ads. As a result, only the loudest parts of songs may sound as loud as commercials (which by design have little dynamic range).

Dynamic differences between music and ads can also vary based on the genre of music or when the track was recorded. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to change the volume of ads dependent upon the station on which they play.

I would recommend upvoting this existing feature request to choose the types of ads you'd like to experience during your listening sessions.

++

Classical Tunes:

We are continually working on ways to present classical music on Pandora radio stations in a more appropriate manner.

On that note, we now have a station dedicated to full classical works that you can check out here.

Also, you may be interested in this article from our blog discussing some interesting things about the evolution of Pandora's classical selection.

Feel free to check out this these steps regarding adding variety to your stations. Running through these steps may help with the repetition you're experiencing.

++

Contact Info:

We do have a User Support team that can always be contacted here. Sharing your experiences in the community is also helpful, in case others are experiencing similar issues.

I'm also happy to have someone from our User Support team reach out to you via email to offer assistance with your stations. Let me know if you'd like to me to have some contact you directly. 

Thanks again for your valuable feedback! 

Alyssa | Community Manager
Join the discussion in Community Chat
Check out: New community badges
Share yours: Q: What holiday song could you listen to on repeat?
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dennphill
Local Performer

Quit Pandora.  There are options out there.  This is a poor excuse for a music channel....far too repetitive and selections are not 'on type' for what is requested.  classical selected and i get rock or pop...just unacceptable.

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LkStrikerJames
Underground

I’m new to Pandora and am dealing with the same issues.

First, regarding the annoyance of ads, there is no free lunch and ads (which must have a marketable value) pay the bills. Five bucks a month seems to me to be a reasonable way to eliminate the annoyance (although I haven’t yet taken that step). 

Second, my goal is for Pandora to eliminate my need for SiriusXM in my cars. SiriusXM only has two classical stations, Classics and Light Classics.  I’ve found three on Pandora: Classical Complete Performances, Classical Radio, Classical Relaxation Radio.  I just learned of CCP in this thread so it may be like SiriusXM’s Classics.  I would call CR “Light Classics” and CRR “Super light classics” (suitable for going to sleep and NOT for driving).

Pandora also offers several classical radio stations based on a particular composer (Beethoven, Mahler). These are too focused (for me) to provide general classical listening. 

My hope now is that CCP will provide a mix of the “heavier” classics. Time will tell. 

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OSkug
Local Performer

I like Pandora a lot and listen to it daily. For me, the $5/mth for no ads is worth it. However, the issue of variety in classical music is still an issue. I enjoy "Bach to rock" and will shuffle at random 5 stations from my collection. When a general classical station (such as an orchestra) is selected, you can count on the same 3 or 4 tracks from 19th/20th century Russian composers not only making an appearance but will repeat in the course of a couple of hours (they are not 'thumbed" and they won't even be performed by the orchestra of the station selected). The genre is way too great, rich, and varied to have to hear principal theme from Swan Lake more than one time in a session, not to mention the recorded output from orchestras like the Berlin Phil or the San Francisco Symphony.

Using the "deep cut" mode when listening to a single station works but doesn't seem to affect the station if it's in a shuffle mix.

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terham
Local Performer

I have the same problem with classical music..............because it's organized by the title and performer or orchestra, not by the composer as it should be. Yesterday I heard Jupiter from the Planets 4 times within one hour.

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378018
Diamond in the Rough

Agreed, and you only hear a fraction, and part of symphonies, concertos etc. 

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378018
Diamond in the Rough

Agreed, you're better off with your local NPR Classical Station for that.

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