Available Stations on Free Account

[squidwink]

Are the available playlist and radio stations limited with the free account? i've gone to play some stations and they play fine with minimal advertisements and then I go to play some other ones and it refuses to play and asked me to watch a video ad making it seem like it's an option but when I decline, I'm not allowed access to the playlist. why can't I just listen to regular advertisements for all of the playlist? Why are some special? I'm using the app while driving and keeping maps up so I can't have an audio streaming app in the forefront playing television ads just to listen to music. 

[MariaPandora]

Hi @squidwink , thanks for your post and welcome to the Pandora Community!

We are always happy to clarify any questions you may have about Pandora. 

First, I want to note that Pandora works a bit different to other music streaming apps as it is mainly focused on music discovery, so it has been designed to introduce you to new music based on the songs you already know and love.

So, with that in mind, I would like to explain you the difference between Stations and Playlists.  

Stations are created based on a chosen song or artist and are intended to work as personalized and adaptable radio-like stations that will show you songs inspired on the song/artist you used to create a station. 

Stations are also guided by thumb feedback or added seeds and will evolve considering the feedback given, so 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.

Playlists, on the other hand, are created by listener's choice. This means you can add only the songs you want to hear, and sequence the playlist yourself.

So the main difference between these two is that Stations automatically generated and edited based on your feedback and are intended for you to discover new music and not worry about what to play next, while Playlists are predefined list of songs you may already know and that can be edited but, in general, you already know the playlist content.

Now rewinding a little bit, Pandora's main intention is for you to discover new music, so you can create and listen to stations almost without any type of restrictions, but Playlist are an extra feature that, given the music permissions and royalties required, is only available for Premium subscribers.

You can check our Pandora Subscriptions FAQ to learn about the differences between our Ad-supported service, and our subscriptions: Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium.

I also wanted to note that as a Free (or Plus) listener you can temporarily unblock Premium-only features, like playlists and on-demand listening, by starting a Premium access session.

You will be prompted watch an ad to unlock Premium access if you:

• Click a link shared through Pandora emails, social posts, push notifications, or messages from our ad partners
• Search our for a song, playlist or album, and click play.

So, when you mention that you are able to listen without issues and minimal ads you may be listening stations but when you mention that it refuses to play and invites you to watch an ad instead, you may be trying to listen to a playlist, album or an on-demand song.

Upgrading to Premium or accepting a Premium session is completely optional; so you can close the ad and a station will be created for you to listen to instead.

Considering this, it also sounds like you may be rejecting our prompts to start a Premium access session, so it ends up creating a brand new station instead of playing the content you want. 

For more information on how Pandora Premium Sessions work, you can view this article.

Hope this helps clarify.