Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Music
  3. News

Pandora has a new feature for its Premium subscribers called AutoPlay

By

pandora autoplay premium thumbprint radio
Image used with permission by copyright holder
“Please don’t stop the music” isn’t just a Rihanna lyric — it’s now a command that Pandora has begun to obey. On Thursday, June 8, the streaming service announced a new feature for its Premium customers (which is to say, those who pay to listen to their music ad-free). It’s called AutoPlay, and it “keeps the music playing so the tunes you love never need to stop.” Whether you’re listening on an iOS or Android device, AutoPlay will let you “effortlessly switch from on-demand to lean-back listening that is completely personalized and unique to you.”

Basically, it means that when your selected song, playlist, or album ends on Pandora Premium, the music won’t just stop. Instead, AutoPlay will take over, playing music that is somehow related to what you were just listening to. Really, it’s the bread and butter of Pandora’s functionality — figuring out what you’ll likely enjoy listening to based on what you’re already listening to. “Whether you’re hosting a party, working out at the gym, road tripping, or any other activity, the soundtrack to your life will continue playing,” Pandora says.

Recommended Videos

But is this really enough to convince folks that it is worth it to pay the $10 a month Premium costs? It could be, if you consider, as Variety has, the fact that AutoPlay effectively allows Pandora to bypass exclusive album deals, and also share music that is supposedly Apple or Tidal exclusive. As Variety explains, “The moment an album ends and Pandora transitions to a personalized radio stream, the licensing terms for that music also change. This allows Pandora to effectively play any song, regardless of whether it has the rights to serve up that song on-demand or not.”

Related
So if you’re a Pandora Premium subscriber, you’re in for a musical treat. You automatically have access to AutoPlay, and you can manage the feature by going to Settings and then clicking on Advanced. Alternatively, you can just manage via a toggle that appears on the bottom of any track, album, and playlist.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
What is hi-res audio, and how can you experience it right now?
Dlyan Wireless Headphones

High-resolution audio, hi-res audio, or even HD audio -- whatever you decide to call it (for the record, the industry prefers "hi-res audio"), it's a catch-all term that describes digital audio that goes above and beyond the level of sound quality you can expect from a garden-variety MP3 file and even CDs. It was once strictly the domain of audiophiles, but now that major streaming music services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz have embraced it, almost everyone can take advantage of what hi-res has to offer.

But what exactly is hi-res audio? What equipment do you need to listen to it? Where can you download or stream it? And does it actually sound better? We've got the answers.
What does the term 'hi-res audio' mean?

Read more
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more
How to switch from Spotify to Apple Music
Spotify and Apple Music transfer on a smartphone.

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service for a reason. It has a massive catalog of music and podcasts, is full of cool music discovery and sharing features, and is really easy to use.
However, with its recent price increase and the fact that it still hasn't joined most of its peers in offering a hi-res audio quality option, you may be considering jumping ship for its closest competitor, Apple Music, which counts lossless hi-res tracks, mind-bending spatial audio, Dolby Atmos Music tracks, and a catalog that rivals Spotify's among the many attractive reasons to switch.

But there's one problem: you’ve spent a lot of time creating playlists and marking songs and albums as your favorites in Spotify. Is it worth the switch? Will all that hard work be lost in translation?

Read more