Still hearing ads with Pandora Plus

[RickHickman]

Subscribed to Pandora plus years ago to skips ads, now Pandora wants me to upgrade to premium to have ad free music.

bait and switch tactics, shame on you.

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@RickHickman Sorry for any confusion.

In the past, free listeners and Pandora Plus subscribers were only able to look for artists and tracks in order to create radio stations.

We've updated your experience so that you have the ability to listen to content on-demand, without being a Pandora Premium subscriber.

If you search for and select the name of an artist, or track, or album, you should be brought to a "backstage page" where you can either create a radio station or press play.

If you press play you indicate that you'd like to listen to that content right away (or "on-demand"). Since only Pandora Premium subscribers can listen on-demand, you will either see an ad for Pandora Premium, or be prompted to watch a video ad to unlock a complimentary session of Pandora Premium.

Keep in mind that upgrading to Pandora Premium or accepting a complimentary session of Pandora Premium is completely optional; you can close the ad and we'll create a station for you to listen to instead (if one is available).

Should you decide to accept a complimentary session of Pandora Premium, rest assured that you won't be billed; because the additional cost of these sessions is covered by the advertisement, your account will return to your regular service automatically when the session expires, and you won't be charged any Pandora Premium fees.

I hope this helps to explain. Hope we continue to see you around the community! 🎶

[dray223]

I agree completely. I signed up for AND PAY FOR ad-free music on Pandora and now they want me to pay for an ADDITIONAL subscription to avoid ads. Scammers. When my subscription expires I will not renew. 

[dray223]

There is no way you can twist your narrative that makes your new double subscription anything other than a money-grab. Its shameful mistreatment of subscribers, like myself, who have subscribed for years. I will not be renewing my subscription. Shame on you, vulgar. 

[Bt123]

This is completely untrue. I’ve been a pandora plus subscriber for many years and am now seeing ads and hearing ads on stations I’ve been listening to for years. And no customer service support to help. Definitely will see a mass exit from pandora. 

[Bt123]

I agree completely. I have been a subscriber for years and have recently had the same experience. It’s awful. Stations I’ve listened to for years now have ads even though I’m a paid subscriber. They definitely did a bait and switch when they should have just done what Netflix did - slightly raise the price if needed to maintain the same exact experience for subscribers. Instead my existing subscription of many many years is now garbage, reverting me back to what should be free. Only option is to upgrade. Absolutely horrible.

[Bt123]

No Adam pandora did not update my experience they turned my paid subscription to garbage and lost me as a customer. Stations I’ve listened to for years and years now have both visual and audio ads. And terrible ads at that. Awful.