Which Music Generator Will You Be Using This Holiday Season?
Graphic by Jonathan Coelho
Jonathan Coelho, Assistant Editor
Martin Luther once said, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.” With the Christmas season now upon us, music will take center stage as Christmas stations begin to play. So which music generator is better, Spotify or Pandora?
Spotify gives it’s listeners the option to skip songs and play the songs they want to listen too. Spotify also offers the option of creating radio stations and playlists; it also allows listeners to select certain types of stations such as Power Workout, Dance Party, and Smooth Jazz. North Greenville University Junior Asa Wolfe says, “I enjoy being able to search for specific songs and the option to run different radio stations.” The free version of Spotify does come with ads, but those can be done away with by upgrading to Spotify Premium for $9.99.
Pandora allows music listening but does come with ads. Upgrading to Pandora One will get rid of ads for $4.99. Pandora offers a more pure radio version of music listening as Pandora plays songs based upon selected likes and dislikes. Pandora will also notify listeners when their favorite artists release new music on their stations. Graphics Major Todd Johnston said, “Pandora offers more variety than Spotify; you’ll discover more music with Pandora but you can’t select songs.” Pandora also allows its listeners to listen to radio stations in their areas, including talk radio.
So which is better? That depends on the listener. Diffen.com says, “Pandora is a way for users to discover new music that matches their tastes, while Spotify—even though it offers radio stations, too—is better suited to stream and share music that users already know and love.” So the choice lies with the listener: new music with limited control or more control over the songs you know and love.
