Repetition with Genre Stations

[AnotherStranger]

This is a problem that seems to affect just a handful of stations. Most of Pandora's stations are pretty good about playing variety, but there are some exceptions where repetitiveness severely cripples the station as a whole. Examples: The Showtunes and Broadway Showtunes stations are just awful. The former only plays Wicked, Greatest Showman, and WAY too much Disney. The latter only plays Wicked, Hamilton, and Dear Evan Hansen. Seriously, I had to go through about 20 skips and the accompanying ads just to hear freaking Seasons of Love, and then it went right back to the same overrated nonsense. Seriously, there are other, better musicals--lots of that-- that these stations could play. Similar problem for a much different genre: Pandora's doom metal station might as well be an Electric Wizard/Eyehategod combo station, but doom metal is much, much more expansive than stoner sludge, and the station completely fails to encapsulate the breadth of the genre. Furthermore, the Goth station could be expanded well beyond simply playing the entire discographies of Depeche Mode and The Cure -- especially considering both the Post-Punk and Dark Wave stations also overplay these artists. There are other stations with this problem, but these are by far the worst I've encountered. Seriously, it can't be that hard to curate a station which offers variety within a genre and shows the full scope of its content and influence. Fix this.

Moderator Edit: Edited title for clarity

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@AnotherStranger 

Genre stations, such as "Today's Hits" or "Showtunes Radio," are stations created and curated by Pandora, and they often include more mainstream artists and songs.

As an alternative, we recommend creating your own station, using an artist or song that you think best represents a particular genre. Then use Thumbs to help guide the station you are trying to create.

Additionally, you may Add Variety to the station you create, in order to include other artists or songs you'd like to influence your station.

Keep in mind, each seed you add will inspire hundreds of other songs, so a little variety goes a long way. If you don't like the direction your station is headed, you can always edit your station seeds and Thumbs through the Station Details.

That said, when you're listening from a computer or mobile device you can access Pandora Modes to customize your station experience. You can pick different modes like Crowd Faves, Discovery and Deep Cuts. Let me know if you'd like more information about that.

Hope this is helpful. Thanks for being a part of the community! 🎶

[Stives]

Why do you play SO MUCH Waylon Jennings on the 70s country channel?

[AdamPandora]

@Stives Check out the accepted solution to this thread for some tips on how to prevent your genre stations from becoming too repetitive.

Hope this helps! 

[jrbrown00]

One of my stations is Broadway Showtunes, and I specifically want it limited to Broadway showtunes, so "add variety' is not want I want.  Correct? There have been hundreds of shows on Broadway.  Why is the EVER a need to repeat?  For example, I have never heard anything from Oklahoma, Kiss me Kate, or West Side Story.  How do I get to hear songs from more different Broadway shows instead of relentless Beauty and The Beast.  I try to avoid thumbs to avoid limiting the selections.  I understand how to put songs on the shelf, but why is that necessary?

[TannerPandora]

Hi @jrbrown00 Thanks for posting to community!

I checked out your station 'Broadway Showtunes' and I noticed that you're not using thumbs. 

I definitely recommend using thumbs on your stations. Pandora stations adapt with every song to try to find the right music for your stations. Without Thumb info,  Pandora has to guess what songs you like or don't like, which can often lead to trouble you mentioned, like repetition.

Thumbs are station specific, so feel free to Thumb up and down as much as you want. Giving a Thumb rating on one station will not affect any of your other stations. 

The power of Thumbs is made so you can 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. 

You can also use Pandora Modes to customize your station experience. Modes is available from the computer, mobile device or the Sonos app. You can pick different modes like Crowd Faves, Discovery and Deep Cuts. Don't forget to Thumb Up songs you like to inspire similar songs to play.

Be sure to give this a try and let us know how your station is going! 🎧

[Jackfrancis121]

I created 2 decade stations 2012 hits and 2014 hits and find these stations very repetitive and I know there are more songs they could play instead of the same songs 

[AdamPandora]

@Jackfrancis121 I moved your post to this thread since you are running into a similar issue.

Check out the accepted solution to this thread for some instructions on how you can combat repetition in your decade stations. 

Hope this helps!

[KevinL]

I love the shuffle mode between stations/genres but why so much Joe Bonamassa on the blues rock station? Like every two or three songs? Nothing against him but I want to hear more artists. 

[AdamPandora]

@KevinL I moved your post to this thread to keep the community organized.

Check out the accepted solution to this thread for some tips to get your station back on track if it is getting too repetitive.

Hope this helps!

[cjwilson1]

I have been curating a "New Age" personal station since I first created it back in 2009.  I have pretty much thumbed up or down every similar song in Pandora's library (so I get very few new songs ever).

However, since the beginning of 2020, I have noticed that the variety of songs played from my station has reduced greatly.  It seems like the number of artists played in my playback rotation rotation has gone way down, and the songs that do get played from the existing artists repeat a lot more often.

Had Pandora changed its licensing recently with artists that has affected the number of artists and songs that are played?

Courtney

[AdamPandora]

@cjwilson1 I moved your post to this thread since you are running into a similar issue.

Genre stations, such as "New Age" or "Today's Hits," are stations created and curated by Pandora, and they often include more mainstream artists and songs.

For instructions on how to combat repetition in your stations, check out the accepted solution to this thread.

Hope this helps! 😎

[Ellie8347844764]

Today’s Hard Rock Station is endlessly repetitive

Five Finger Death Punch. Skillet. Ghost. “Hey guys, this is whoever from Seether.” Skillet. Linkin Park. 3 Days Grace. Skillet. Repeat. 

There are no modes beyond *only* listen to Five Finger Death Punch, and I’ve upvoted upwards of thirty songs so from my end I’ve done everything to get a good variety going but no dice.

While I get the whole adding variety yourself bit, this isn’t my station, this is Pandora’s Today’s Hard Rock station. I’m listening to this exactly to listen to things I might otherwise not listen to or even know existed.

Is Pandora getting paid by the studios to push certain songs and bands after the Sirius buyout? Because part of the reason I switched from traditional radio to pandora back in 07, and then from Sirius back to Pandora in ‘19, was to get away from the whole ‘play this song over and over again until they like it.’ Downvoting songs means nothing when pandora will then just try the same tactic with other songs, sometimes taking songs I actually do like and playing them over and over again until I can’t stand the song anymore. 

Pandora has a massive net. There’s no reason a pandora curated station like Today’s Hard Rock should be so limited- especially when the station defines ‘today’ as anything in the past 30 years. I’m fine with it playing the hits of 92 followed by chart toppers from 2015 so long as its not the same 6 bands over and over again.

[Ellie8347844764]

Although Aerosmith’s Dream On playing in ‘Today’s Hard Rock’ station in 2020 is definitely a choice.

[neel_arunabh]

Everyday, I  turn on Pandora premium, and I keep skipping tracks until I get to hear at least one track I never heard before, so that i can give the song a Thumbs Up. 2016 Hits Radio must only play songs released 2016 or before. If the station starts playing a song released more recently, I intentionally give it a thumbs down, indicating it is not suitable for that station. Today, I have wasted so many premium sessions and I still did not get a chance to hear an unheard song. Please let me hear at least one unheard song. 

[AdamPandora]

@neel_arunabh I moved your post over to this existing thread: Repetition with Genre Stations

Check out the accepted solution to this thread for some tips to get your station back on track if it is getting too repetitive.

Hope this helps!

[neel_arunabh]

I am getting really angry at one of the stations I listen to: "2016 Hits Radio". Everyday I turn on a Pandora Premium session and I wait for the opportunity to give a Thumbs Up to a song that was never played on this station before. I have Thumbed Up 893 songs upto this week. However, this week my station has only been playing previously Thumbed Up songs. It has never played any new song. This is really frustrating and I really want to hear more songs on that station. To be noted, back in September 2020, I hit a temporary limit as mentioned at https://community.pandora.com/t5/Subscriptions/Limit-on-Pandora-Premium-sessions/td-p/3932. At that time, I would simultaneously listen to Premium sessions. I am really worried, that I will again be hitting another temporary limit soon, since I have wasted so many premium sessions  with the above situation. 

[AdamPandora]

@neel_arunabh I moved your message back under your original post, as I'm not sure if you saw my suggestion in the reply I sent over.

Check out the accepted solution to this thread for some tips to get your station back on track if it is getting too repetitive.

Thanks for being a part of the Community! 

[neel_arunabh]

It seems very ironic when my stations play the lesser known songs without playing the more popular songs, whether I'm listening in Premium or not. In 2016 Hits Radio, I have heard a couple of songs by Halsey. But, I am yet to hear "New Americana", which is more popular than the other songs. I have heard "Hey Hey Hallelujah" by Rachel Platten on repeat. It's been a year since I last heard "Fight Song" and "Stand By You", which are the more popular songs. I'm yet to hear "Better Place". In 2017 Hits Radio, I have heard "Lottery" and "Loverman" by Train on repeat, bu it has been a long time since i last heard "Play That Song", which is the most famous song. I have heard a lot of songs by Dua Lipa, but I am yet to hear "New Rules", which is the most famous song. I have heard a lot of songs by Bebe Rexha, but I am yet to hear "Meant to Be", which is the most famous song. I am also yet to hear "I'm A Mess". I have heard a couple of songs from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, but I am yet to hear "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", which is the most famous song. I cannot understand what is going on. 

[AdamPandora]

@neel_arunabh Nice to hear back from you.

We use all of the feedback you've given on the station (all the Thumbs and any additional seeds) to determine what to play next.

I took a look at both your 2016 Hits Radio and 2017 Hits Radio stations, and I do see you've provided a very high number of thumb ratings on both of those stations.

If you want to hear more songs by a particular artist, review the Thumbs and seeds you have added. To improve your stations, make sure each of the Thumbs Up or seeds you've added fit with the type of station you want and remove those that don't.

To edit your station on the web, go to My Collection, sort your collection by Stations, and then select the name of the station you'd like to edit.

Then:

1. You can remove a station seed from your station by scrolling down to the Station Created From section. You can delete a particular seed by tapping the ellipsis (or three dots), or by hovering over it and selecting Delete.
2. To delete a thumbed track, scroll down to the Thumb History section of this page. By default, this section will show your Thumbed Up tracks first. If you'd like to see your Thumbs Down, click on the Thumbs Down icon. Next, either select the ellipsis next to the Thumb or hover your cursor over the name of the track to reveal a hidden menu. As before, select Delete.

Now you should hear more of that particular artist in the station, though we do limit the number of songs by a particular artist played each hour due to licensing agreements.

As for the Thumbs or seeds you removed, keep in mind that you can always create new stations based on those songs or artists.

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Hearing newer tracks on demand:

If you would like to listen to a song or album on-demand, we do offer a solution through Pandora Premium subscriptions and complimentary sessions of Pandora Premium. This service combines our industry leading radio service with on-demand listening.

Use this link to learn more about upgrading. Alternatively, you can start a complimentary session simply by searching our library for a song or album, and clicking play. This will trigger a short advertisement, after which you can enjoy content on-demand.

Ad-supported Pandora and Pandora Plus are designed to introduce you to new music through the artists and songs that you already know and love. You can type in your favorite artist or song and music that is similar to your selection will play on your station.

Hope this helps!