1. The first I heard one of these ads on Pandora I just closed my browser and haven't gone back since.

If I wanted to hear commercials during my music I just listen to the local FM radio crap.

Posted at 4:44PM on Jan 8th 2007 by CoreBurn

2. Tom Conrad (CTO, Pandora) commented here: http://jdamer.com/wordpress/2007/01/06/pandora-crosses-the-line/ that the McDonald's ads in the music stream are currently just a trial balloon to see what the listeners think and are running for a limited time and only for some users.

Tim
http://pandorastatons.crispynews.com

Posted at 8:57PM on Jan 8th 2007 by Tim

3. Right now the audio ad is just a test — we've put it out there to see what our listeners think. It's running for a limited time, and only a small subset of our visitors are hearing it. The ad is 9 seconds long and is "NPR-style." There's just the one ad you heard.

This response is just the kind of thing we need to hear during this period; so thanks for posting about this.

There are significant costs associated with delivering Pandora and we have to find ways to cover those costs to be able to continue to deliver the service. We're always trying to strike the right balance between keeping the site going and not doing anything that takes away from the experience of listening to Pandora.

I really do hope you'll stick with us as we sort through all of this; we certainly value your feedback.

Tom
CTO @ Pandora

Posted at 9:10PM on Jan 8th 2007 by Tom Conrad

4. Re #2: Thanks for the link, but I was a little quick with my comments. It's really not that bad, esp. considering all of the great music Pandora has helped me find. I just hope it's not a slippery slope.

Posted at 4:55PM on Jan 9th 2007 by J Amer

5. Pandora are all too aware that adding commercials of any kind will seriously limit he impact of their market differentiator from regular radio , ie you choose the music (more or less) and you hear it, no guff.

It's up to them how they will mange it, but it was always going to go this way, even though they sort of said (and still say) it wasnt.

there a just too many Squillions of advertising dollars to be made : I'm the advertising man at Sony Music. How do I get best advertising value ?

"We can play your ad for Madonnas tour to confirmed madonna fans, we can play it when they listen - because know when they connect. Oh, and if they like Michael Jackson sometimes too - we can play his ad for you as well. Oh Timberlake just got a Nike sponsor ? I'm sure we can figure something out. "

It's no Google, but its a beautiful model.

The only thing that surprises me are the folks who thought it was a free lunch. I mean, really.

Posted at 6:31PM on Jan 10th 2007 by jason

6. Pandora is the greatest thing that's ever happened to my music listening experience, period. Yes, there is a time & place for playlists of various kinds (and definitely for visualizers, like Milkdrop for Winamp), but like 'jason' said, it is quite surprising anyone thought this was a free lunch. Rare, targeted ads are much better than copious, shotgun-approach ones (like car dealerships, ICK!). There is a difference, and it does matter, and I really hope it works out well for the Pandora folks, because I am a shameless fanboy.

Posted at 11:36PM on Jan 15th 2007 by slfnflctd

7. Pandora is one of the greatest things to happen to the internet since mIRC. I am glad to know that they have the business sense to put on some ads that will generate some real money. I keep pandora minimized all the time, and the visual ads serve no purpose. A 9 second add every once in a while is no reason at all to get so pissy! I applaud Pandora, and I hope their creators make a ton of money. I wouldn't mind an add most times when I change stations or skip a song. As long as they keep it reasonable and continue to deliver the great service they are they can put up whatever they want.

Posted at 9:37PM on Jan 15th 2007 by Rhamy