I realize that this post is similar to several others, but I was not sure it was similar enough to warrant adding a post to an existing thread. Feel free to merge it as appropriate.
I have long been a free listener (somewhere in the 5-10 year range), and have a large collection of tracks given "thumbs up". I have noticed recently that basically none play any longer, and your service is only offering me "similar" tracks that I don't feel are very similar at all. The list of new alternates I have thumbed-up is very short - around 10 tracks keep repeating, compared to 200+ before.
If I use a browser to visit a track's page directly and click "play", I can see errors in the browser console, including the messages below:
client/CoachmarkManager: Rewards coachmark 'premiumAccess' cancelled
Unhandled service error for v1/playback/source: 400 - Listener does not have rights to play source XX:YYYYYY
I understand this may be happening due to licensing restrictions, but as far as I can tell, your site does not make clear what is happening with any given track. The error message above makes it sound as though it's something up with my account, rather than an issue with Pandora's access to the track. The tracks are still in my list and do not appear marked as "unavailable" in a way that I have noticed - they simply do not play.
My question is this: is this behavior because Pandora cannot play me these songs, or is it because they are now behind a subscription requirement? If they are behind a subscription requirement, I will be willing to pay to listen to them as I once did. I took the initiative to try a Pandora Plus subscription and this doesn't seem to have made any difference. Comparing the Plus and Premium plans, there is nothing to indicate that there is a difference in what content they make available, but I'd like to confirm that.
Unfortunately, if the songs I have been listening to for so long are simply unavailable on Pandora, then I will have to go elsewhere for my listening. Please know that I don't say this as a passive-aggressive attempt to get what I want - I simply want to listen to the songs I enjoy and will use the service that lets me can do that. Your subscription prices are reasonable, but there's no value to me in paying them if that can't get me the music I am interested in.
To be clear, I am not having any technical problems accessing the Pandora service itself. I can access it and play music, and can do so using a browser, Android app on two different devices, and a Roku player. It just will not play any of my "thumbs-up'd" tracks on the "station" I most often listen to.
Thanks for your time.
Moderator Edit: Edited title for clarity
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