Ad Feedback - Ads too loud

[Davepanda]

Please tell someone at Pandora to stop playing the Mancini ad where the women says " come on girls, lets go " and then a 3 year old screams. Just as i am chilled out after listening to a great song that ad comes on and ruins my kwa! Yes I know I can pay and not hear commercials but .... I don't do that. In any case I will NEVER buy anything from Mancini as a result of the screaming 3 year old ad. Someone for the love of God please get them to stop playing this!!!! Thank you.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi @Davepanda!

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

Thanks so much for your feedback about this particular ad.  As I'm sure you can imagine, there's a natural tension between valuable ad space and the integrity of the listening experience. Our objective is to do our best to balance these, but it's something that we'll be working at for a long time to come.

Also, feel free to check out my post about advertising on Pandora here.

See ya around the community!

[bobh]

As another example:  The currently running Netflix commercial for "Living with yourself" has an audio segment of loud screaming -- loud screaming is really inappropriate and obnoxious.

[Astocks2622]

Not so much a question as feedback. Pandora needs to find a way to match ad volume to whatever genre is being listened to. I had some nice classical music turned up fairly high, but not crazy. The ad comes on and about blows us out of the water... Also, if I'm running a family lullaby station and an artist ad for, say, a heavy rock artist comes on, it doesn't help my kids fall asleep... Yes that could be solved with a paid subscription, but if Pandora can use an algorithm to match music to certain genres, they should be able to apply something similar to their ads.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Astocks2622 thanks for the feedback! We appreciate you letting us know. I would also recommend creating a feature request from our Feature Request forum. This is the best way to report ideas and feedback to Pandora. 

Thanks for posting to community! 🎧

[yendoR]

I agree , not only that but I swear they are louder than the music! Its a real drag when you are using ear phones and have it turned up! With no warning and no mute button. I have torn the  headset off several times ! And after I turn it down I forget to turn it back up! Other issues ; Although the band may have 1000 songs you play the same one every day! 

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@yendoR I moved your post to this thread since you have similar feedback.

Ad volume:

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.

You might also consider subscribing to one of our ad-free music subscriptions. Both Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium stream at a higher quality, and come with a number of other benefits you might find attractive. For instance, Plus features include unlimited skips, replays, and offline listening, while Pandora Premium boasts all of these features as well as a curated on-demand library.

Of course, we're happy to have folks listen, whether they are paid or free.

We work very hard to deliver the best music discovery experience and hope you will continue enjoying and listening to Pandora.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Station Repetition:

For more information on how you can prevent your stations from getting too repetitive, check out this post here.

Thanks for being a part of the community! 

[Freebee]

This is a complete BS answer. Pandora turns up the volume on ads to force you to pay for the subscription service. It's not a matter of "dynamic range." LOL It happens when you are listening to everything. Very annoying, so I just turn off  Pandora or go to a different app when the problem gets too annoying. I hope their sponsors know that when those loud ads come on, I turn them off.

[KItnCaboo]

Yep - Its perfectly legitimate for us to require the Ads are not exceptionally louder than the content we are listening to. I refuse to use Amazon music for that reason - its chronic there. This IS a hugely BS answer. The FCC will take complaints about  this sort of thing to btw. And if the Ad is loudly obnoxious (and many are) I make a point to remember the product as one I must never purchase.

No Yoplait for me. Ever.

[stevenjacobgold]

Ads in general don't bother me - I understand that they are necessary to keep the lights on. However, as an individual with the Misophonia disorder, it is physically impossible to tolerate the Snyder's of Hanover ad campaign, where a person is loudly chewing pretzels for the entire ad, which comes on every ad break. I must cover my ears, leave the room, or take out my headphones.

This reaction is hard to describe to most people, unless they are one of the few who have the disorder. Think of it like how normal people react to nails on a chalkboard, except as a similar reaction set off by more normal sounds. You could consider us as people who have the polar opposite reaction to ASMR recordings that some seek out; a reaction based in genetics and often linked to some form of OCD.

I'd like to find a way to disable just this ad campaign, and will happily take ads from... literally any other advertiser.

[ctleng76]

This reply is BS.  ALL of the ads are louder than the music, and the fact that you are denying Pandora does this makes it worse.  Tell the truth and stop treating us as though we are stupid and can be convince of anything.  We consumers are not as dumb as you think we are.  This response makes me never want to subscribe to Pandora.

[CageRat]

Irl, radio couldn’t survive if they made the ads this loud every time and then when the music begins its super soft. Please don’t get carried away. It’s so bad that I really can’t recommend pandora, right now. );

[jmswift]

All of the ads are extremely loud when they start. I mean, so loud at first, that I've been known to rip the headphones off my head - painfully loud. After the first horrifying blast, they soften back down to the low volume that I have set for my music. It's just very annoying. 

[odywon]

Did anyone else get a hard punch to the brain on the Lincoln advertisements? There was a sound in the background that just ruined me.

[odywon]

It may have been an ad before.. I don't remember. I just remember the sound and the Lincoln add was on when I snapped back.

[overlock]

The ads are too loud exactly like on TV.  Ads are louder than the show on TV because advertisers think everyone gets up from their couches and goes and checks on the laundry.  Guess what.  I have the stereo blasting already.  I don't need the commercials to be 10 db louder than the music to hear the commercials.  My neighbors already complain my music is too loud.  But now they're complaining the Pandora commercials are way too loud.  And please for the love of god and all things holy do not respond to me with that "music is dynamic" **ahem**.  The commercials are too loud.  Just make the commercials quieter.  I'm almost to the point of cancelling my pandora account because of the hubris exhibited by the lack of proper response.  

[Phary2017]

Pandora needs to find a way to play ads based on the type of music being played or let us specify the type of ads we are ok hearing. As a person with migraines, it is physically painful when I am listening to soft classical music and then an ad comes on and blows out my ear drums. 
I am perfectly fine listening to ads to keep pandora free but I really wish there was an option to say “I don’t want to hear this ad” or “play a different ad”

[Kitch1313]

I listen to a wide variety of music. When I'm rocking out I don't mind a commercial that is just as loud as the music.... but when I'm on my easy/soft listening station the commercials are 10x louder than the music... so I go from relaxed, to a full body clench. If I'm in my meditation zone, it literally jolts my body and makes my heart start racing!! Is there a way to lower the commercial volume or put in a request for softer commercials on soft stations?? 

[Alecia48]

Why are Betrivers and MGMs ads so loud? I don't mind the ads but they are too loud.

[Blcoll]

Yes! I agree with everyone. Ads are absolutely louder than the music playing. No matter the channel. If my baby is sleeping to ocean sounds, Every ad that comes on jerks him awake. Terribly annoying and inexcusable. There is no justification. Fix it. We're not idiots, we know u're doing this sh- on purpose, some deal with the advertisers no doubt.