From CNET: The veteran online radio provider said on Thursday that it will let listeners can skip more songs and replay tracks if they watch an extra ad. For $5 a month, paid members get those perks without any commercials plus a mode for listening offline, in a revamped subscription called Pandora Plus.
The announcement marks the most substantive change to Pandora's service in years by giving its listeners more control, and a step towards the kind on-demand subscription music service popularized by newer rivals like Spotify and Apple Music.
"We're taking radio into the 21st century," CEO and founder Tim Westergren said in an interview.
Pandora hopes the changes mark the beginning of its rebirth. The company built its business as an online and mobile version of traditional radio, which meant you had little control over what songs played. While it battled the recording industry and rigid licensing rules, Spotify and Apple Music struck more modern deals that allowed you to listen to whatever you want, as much as you want.
As a result, the upstart on-demand services grew at a breakneck pace, and Pandora began to stagnate. Spotify this year outstripped Pandora in total listeners.
The big hole in Thursday's unveiling: As of publication, Pandora hasn't announced a deal with one of the three major labels, Warner Music Group. That means if you want to apply any of the new tricks to Warner content, such as Coldplay, Metallica, Ed Sheeran or Blake Shelton, you'll get a message that Pandora doesn't have the rights to deliver it yet.
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