Opinion: Why I quit Spotify and ran back into the arms of Pandora

August 14, 2011 By Mark Beare

Spotify may have won over Europe with a nearly limitless selection of free music, but without an easy way to set in autopilot, Pandora still rules.

Guest contibuter Mark Beare is the president and founder of ReviverSoft, which helps people optimize and maintain their computers through its award-winning software and blog. He’s an avid audio junkie by hobby, and a long-time Digital Trends fan.

As someone who spends a lot of time on a computer, loves many different types of music, and enjoys discovering new music, I (along with many people) was excited when Spotify launched in the US in July. Unfortunately, the streaming music service I had been clamoring for didn’t work out quite as I had imagined. After a brief love affair with Spotify, things fizzled out quickly, and now I’m back in the arms of Pandora. Here’s what happened.

The honeymoon period

At first, Spotify’s service was really impressive. Very rarely would I not be able to find a song I was looking for, and I never had to worry about my music collection when moving from computer to computer. No matter which computer I was on, or even which mobile device, all my music was right there and organized how I liked it.

After initially signing up for the service, it was a lot of fun to put play lists together of songs that I liked. I have been a Pandora user for some time, so I based a lot of my playlists off of what I already liked on Pandora. I would make a good playlist, thrash it to death till I was sick of all the songs, and then go to work on a new playlist. I paid for the premium service ($9.99 a month), so I also listened to my playlists in the car using offline playlists.

One thing that did annoy me was that I could not use the songs on my iPod shuffle, which is what I use when I work out. This is where I really want fresh music for use offline.

A labor of love

While I initially really liked making playlists in Spotify, after a couple weeks it became more of a chore than a pleasure. I exhausted the “What’s New” and “Top Lists” playlists, then I found myself starting to have to put in a considerable amount of time to find music for new playlists. This wasn’t fun anymore. What used to be something that I did while working became something I had to do instead of working.

Pandora, I miss you

Within a couple of weeks, I found myself longing for the “set it and forget it” ease of Pandora. All I had to do was pick one song that I liked, and then let Pandora do the rest. Also, Pandora recently added genre stations, which means you can pick a type of music you like or even just listen to today’s hits. This style of music selection fits in much better with my work than Spotify’s.

The love affair is over

After initially enjoying Spotify, and paying for the premium service, I cancelled the service within the first month to go back to Pandora. While Spotify would be revolutionary for some people, it really does not fit in with the way I like to listen to music during my work day. I honestly think that the only reason Spotify became so popular in Europe was simply because Pandora is not available there. People rave about Pandora in the US. They love it and find it to be an amazing service. I have not heard people refer to Spotify with this type of passion; people are just impressed with the selection. I think that it will not take too long before people start to realize that to use Spotify long term takes a time commitment that may be OK for some people, but not all. The same thing can be said for Turn Table.

For me, I am back to listening to Pandora for eight hours a day, and not once since switching back have I missed a single thing about Spotify.

Also check out our comparison: Spotify vs. Pandora vs. Grooveshark.

Showing 29 comments

Samuel Yu at 9:24am 15th August 2011 Just star your favorite songs on Spotify, set to shuffle, and BAM, easy background listening. Add some new songs to your starred songs every now and then, and you've got something similar to Pandora.
1. Mark Beare at 2:37pm 15th August 2011 Hi Samuel,Yeah I did this but it still requires that you have enough songs stared so that you don't keep hearing the same songs over and over again. Also, I have a diverse taste of music so my stared songs were from a range of genres. I usually am in the mood for a certain genre when I listen to music.
Adam Hughes at 11:06pm 14th August 2011 Like I said a week ago with all if youre which is better spotify pandora or xyz
Mike Dunn at 4:01pm 14th August 2011 I had the same experience. I love that I can play the exact song that I'm thinking about when I want to with Spotify, but having to make playlists to get a mix of music has just been annoying. I went back to using Pandora within a couple of days, the wife is loving Spotify though.
1. Mark Beare at 9:43pm 14th August 2011 I think it really comes down to if you want to pick the exact songs you are listening to. If you want to pick the exact songs you use iTunes or Spotify. If you want to listen to similar songs then you listen to Pandora
  1. Mike Dunn at 7:58am 15th August 2011 The main thing holding me back from paying for both services is that Spotify doesn't let us both listen to it at the same time at work, while Pandora does.
  2. chris59511 at 9:27am 15th August 2011 Mark, a couple of commenters have referred to the "Artist Radio" function that Spotify (now) has, but I can't tell if you addressed it. It essentially simulates the artist radio functionality of Pandora. It was not included in the very first release of the Spotify program but it's now available.
    Mark Beare at 2:35pm 15th August 2011 Hi Chris,I never used the Artist radio feature. I did use a service that generates a playlist for you based on one song or artist called Spotibot but I still found that this required more work than to just use Pandora. So far the only thing I miss about Spotify is that I could control Pause, Play, Previous and Next using keyboard shortcuts both on a Mac and PC. I can't do this with Pandora, I have to go and find the tab it is playing in and then press pause or next.
    chris59511 at 2:39pm 15th August 2011 The Artist radio is pretty analogous to Pandora (see #1 here: http://www.pansentient.com/2011/07/ten-things-you-thought-were-missing-from-spotify-but-arent-really/) and I think it specifically solves your issue here:"I think it really comes down to if you want to pick the exact songs you are listening to. If you want to pick the exact songs you use iTunes or Spotify. If you want to listen to similar songs then you listen to Pandora"
    Mark Beare at 4:09pm 15th August 2011 I can see where this might satisfy some music listeners. I still think Pandora's music algorithm is better and it also gets better with time and ratings input from the user.
  3. Dan Gaul at 9:05pm 17th August 2011 MOG is a great service If you want to pick an exact song or album, and it's cheap.
Wraxis at 2:03pm 14th August 2011 If you enjoy listening to the same song repeated every few hours, you'll love Pandora. Spotify artist radio and playlists ensure I don't hear a repeated song for days. If you don't know how to use Spotify properly it's your own fault, don't blame them.
1. Mark Beare at 9:33pm 14th August 2011 I'm not blaming them for anything, I like their product. It just does not fit in with the way I like to listen to music. I very rarely hear a repeated song on Pandora and it is only true that you do not hear a repeated song on Spotify if you have a long enough playlist.
Matthew Borish at 12:47pm 14th August 2011 Sorry, but your article is deeply flawed. First off, there is an artist radio feature available on Spotify if that is your preferred choice for discovering new music. Second, if making playlists is too much of a chore, there are several easy alternative options available. Sharemyplaylists.com has over 50,000 playlists available for free and searchable by artist or genre. I've also been loving a blog @ http://fyspotify.appspot.com/ that contains the top daily tweeted albums on Spotify. It's been a total gold mine for me. Finally, I can choose from all of my friends' playlists. I trust their judgement over an algorithm any day.
1. Mark Beare at 9:31pm 14th August 2011 Hi Matthew,Thanks for the feedback. I don't think that 'flawed' is the right word here. This article was based on my opinions. I am well aware of the many services out there to download playlists but for my personal listening style I find that this still requires a great deal of searching to find ones you like. On a weekend where I have more time I might do this but during the week when all I would like to do is listen to music in the background while I work I would rather not look for playlists.
Miles Terracina at 12:04pm 14th August 2011 Thinking Spotify would replace Pandora is like thinking CDs would replace the radio. They are two different services/experiences for different needs. Music discovery should never be left to an algorithm. Personal music tastes are too diverse and complicated for an analysis of sound components. These software filters are limited and lean towards the corporate. Casual music listeners typically have a passive process with music consumption. Serious fans of music take a more proactive approach. From Turntable.fm to iTunes, all these services are filling niches of use.
1. Mark Beare at 9:37pm 14th August 2011 Hi Miles,I agree with you, they are very different services. I was giving my perspective from listenng to music while working. I did not find Spotify was good for music discovery at all. I think Turntable is good for that though as you listen to music with people with similar interests. People will continue to use both services and I'm sure both companies will be successful. Pandora revolutionized my music listening at work because it allowed me to listen to fresh music without having to put in a lot of time into the playlists I was listening to.
  1. Miles Terracina at 10:34pm 14th August 2011 Ok I see what you're sayin' :) I just see a lot of misconceptions (not just from listeners but from journos/bloggers) about these services/programs. It seems their role in the overall music consumption experience is being missed. Your example of music listening during work shows shows how different needs are being met by different programs. I think your article highlighting how you canceled your subscription gives an impression that these services compete for a single type of need. (PS you can follow me and my music opinions on twitter @PunkSoda) Sorry for the double post - it was an accident.
Miles Terracina at 11:55am 14th August 2011 Music discovery should never be left to an algorithm, there is music community mechanisms for that, like the blogs or Pitchfork. Thinking Spotify would replace Pandora is like thinking owning CDs would replace the radio, they work in tandem and are different services for a different uses.
Drew Abas at 6:24pm 14th August 2011 I think the author has a valid point. In the back of my mind, I wondered about the labor of setting playlists in Spotify, when in comparison, Pandora's 'playlist' mode will expose me to songs and artists I may not know, but like just the same. Pandora has the ability to expand our listening horizons while Spotify can only constrain them to what we already know is out there.
Xi Yue at 11:09am 14th August 2011 Nothing is perfect, every service has its own advantages and limitations, and everyone has their preference. Unlike Pandora that automatically provides random recommendations based on your taste (most times they do give some really good choices), the most prominent feature of Spotify is SOCIAL, to share music, playlists with your friends. In all, Spotify is more "human".
1. Mark Beare at 9:39pm 14th August 2011 Hi Xi,Thanks for your comments. They definitely both have their upsides and downsides. For me Pandora just has more upsides. I didn't find the social features in Spotify that useful because my friends had very different tastes in music than I did so I didn't listen to their playlists.
xorizov at 9:58am 14th August 2011 Here in Europe/Sweden Spotify have radio, if you pay for subscription, there you can choose genre and time period.
1. Mark Beare at 9:40pm 14th August 2011 I believe you can do thus in the US too but you need to know how to use commands in the search box. You can search for a genre or year.
Salvatore Orrico Lapaglia at 4:33pm 14th August 2011 I'm in Italy right now on vacation at my house (I live in Chicago) get this. Pandora isn't available streaming on my iPad in Italy. But yet I'm still hearing music. Lmao!
Chris Fair at 4:31pm 14th August 2011 WTF. Spotify is MUCH better than Pandora. js.
TechFreak at 9:30am 14th August 2011 Real Rhapsody is a great product that a lot of people forget about. They don't have a discovery engine like Pandora, but they do have genre radio stations where you can listen to new music which is great.
1. Mark Beare at 9:41pm 14th August 2011 Yeah I feel that Real is very similar to Spotify. The Zune marketplace has a similar offering where you get all you can eat music for a fee per month but that hasn't really taken off.
Ian Bell at 9:23am 14th August 2011 "I honestly think that the only reason Spotify became so popular in Europe was simply because Pandora is not available there. "I think you nailed it on the head here.I like Spotify, but its nothing compared to Pandora. It's cool that you get to listen to your own music, but there is no music discovery engine like Pandora where you get to hear new music. And I got burnt out of the "Whats new" relatively quickly too.Pandora would be perfect if they had the social elements of Spotify, and if they let you listen to your own music as well. In the meantime though, Pandora is much much better than Spotify.