@chadnorthrup

Why I Upgraded to Pandora One

This morning I made the leap and upgraded to the paid version of the Pandora streaming music service, Pandora One. There are a number of advantages to making this move:

Access to the Pandora One Desktop App
Personalized skins
No limits on listening time
Better streaming
No ads
Extended timeouts (you can be inactive for up to 5 hours and the music will just keep playing)

However, the main reason I upgraded is because I believe it's about time Pandora got paid for the value they provide to me. All summer long I crank their tunes on my outdoor speakers next to the pool, and I'm able to easily customize the sounds depending on the audience. During the workday I often tune in for background music (typically songs without lyrics, since I'm easily distracted otherwise). I know Pandora has worked hard to maintain the ability to provide a free version, and that version probably gave me everything I needed (despite playing those tunes on many a summer day, I never approached the 40 hour cutoff limit). Still, I came to the conclusion that I WANT to give them money. It's the fair thing to do, and it's probably the highest compliment I could pay to a vendor. It seems safe to say that once a brand reaches a point where their users' consciences demand that they pay for service, they know they're doing something right.

So, congrats Pandora! $36 is a bargain in my book.