Yamaha MusicCast App playing unrelated tracks

[ThChrMn]

When using the Yamaha music cast application on my iPad it does not allow me to see all of my playlist, and I have a premium Pandora account. 

Also, when playing a station that I have set up on the music cast application it will randomly play other songs.

I have verified that this is a music cast problem. Is there a fixed to this?

Moderator Edit: Changing title for clarity

[TannerPandora]

Hi @ThChrMn! Thanks for posting. 

Yamaha MusicCast doesn't support Pandora Premium features at this time. Pandora Premium is available on our website, as well as the devices listed here.

For your stations, can you clarify if the tracks playing are unrelated to the station? Can you give me an example of a station this is happening on so I can take a closer look?

Let me know. 

[ThChrMn]

Hello Tanner,

Unfortunately, I have multiple wireless Yamaha speakers with a subwoofer, and they can only be synchronized via MusicCast. So, I cannot use another device or platform supported by Pandora with my Yamaha WiFi Speakers. 

Regarding the stations that do not play properly. Musicast will identify a station that I established on my Pandora premium account, but it will randomly play other artist that are not programmed in the station that I established. Also, MusicCast does not recognize any of my thumbs-up songs. 

When I use my Pandora premium account while linked via Bluetooth (Although, I can only listen to one speaker this way) my programmed stations and thumbs up songs play perfectly.  

I realize that this is not your issue, but Yamaha is selling their receivers and WiFi speaker systems as fully compatible with Pandora, and they simply are not.

Can anything be done to resolve this?

Thank you for your time.

John

[TannerPandora]

Hi @ThChrMn

I'm happy to take a closer look. 

Sorry for any confusion on my part, I just want to be sure I understand what is happening with your stations more thoroughly. Normally, Pandora radio stations will play related content, not necessarily tracks by the station name or seeds. When you say it's playing other artist, is it playing another genre of tracks? Can you give me an example of a station you see this on?

For your thumbs, are you not seeing them from the now playing screen or is the option completely missing? Are you able to play your Thumbprint Radio?

Would you be able to share a few screenshots of what you're seeing in the MusicCast app?

Thanks for your continue patience while we look into this.  

[Ram54csu]

I am having the same problem with the MusicCast app not recognizing my Pandora thumbs up or thumbs down while using the app since the November 2020 firmware update. This used to work just fine in previous Yamaha firmware versions. I have also noticed that I can now only see the first 50 of my Pandora stations while using the App. Pandora should alert Yamaha MusicCast about this issue to ensure a quality experience for their paying Pandora users. Spotify and Apple Music streaming seems to be working just fine with the update.  

[BigCho]

I have a new Yamaha TSR-700 7.1-Channel Network AV Receiver that is also having this problem.  One of the main attractions of my purchase was what I read about the Yamaha MusicCast app and it's ability to stream content to speakers around my home.  At this time, the MusicCast app is treating my Pandora account as if I am only a Plus user.  All my custom stations, Thumbs Up and other new playlist do not show up through the MusicCast interface.  Meanwhile, I can open the Pandora app on my iphone right next to MusicCast and see all my Premium content.  Hard for me to tell if this is a MusicCast or Pandora issue... but, I do know that it **ahem**!  Please help or at least let me know if a patch might be on the way.

Thank you!

[ThChrMn]

Hello Tanner,

I resolved the issue. I cancelled my premium Pandora subscription, and opened up a Spotify account.  Spotify works perfectly with the Musicast app. 

John

[scifigoth]

Hi Tanner, I too pay for Pandora as opposed to a free addition.  Many people are using the Musiccast system and Yamaha as their home audio.  Not withstanding the fact that your stations play the same music over and over without fail, I would like to be able to access all my playlists on Pandora on this interface.  Has Pandora stepped on this yet or as the previous comment says, we have to fire Pandora and go to Spotify to get this to work properly.  Please advise what I can to get all my playlists to come up again on MusicCast.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @scifigoth! Thanks for posting your feedback and experience. 

Based on your message, it sounds like you aren't able to view all of your stations while using your Yamaha MusicCast app. 

Unfortunately, you will only be able to view 95 of your stations when listening on your Yamaha. 

There is a 250 station limit on all accounts, free or paid. However, some older consumer electronic devices (such as Yamaha) and car stereos are not optimized for the new station limit and will still be subject to the previous limit of 95 stations.

You'll be able to use the Search feature on your device to look for stations that may not be visible.

If you're hearing repetition in your stations, I would recommend trying the following steps from a computer or mobile device. Any changes made will also transfer over to your Yamaha.  

1. Listen using Pandora Modes: When listening from a computer, mobile device, or the Sonos app, you can access Pandora Modes to customize your station experience. You can pick different modes like Crowd Faves, Discovery and Deep Cuts.
2. Put tracks on the shelf: If you get sick of a track but don't want to give it a Thumbs Down, you can put it on the shelf for a while. To do this from the web, hover your mouse over the album art and select "I'm tired of this track." Pandora Premium listeners should click the ellipsis (3 dots) next the album art to see that option.
3. Edit your station: In some cases, it might actually help to remove Thumbs Up ratings in the station to mix things up.
4. Add Variety: To add more variety to your artist or song based stations, you can select additional artist and/or song seeds. You can Add Variety when editing stations.

Running through these steps should increase the variety of the station pretty quickly.