Pandora

Technology has made media consumption fairly convenient. Music has benefited from the growth and listeners from all walks of life can hear what they want, when they want and where they want. These new music platforms have also become multifaceted. You can find new music, share music, create your own music; the list goes on. But with anything, there are many pros and cons. The end that is greater than the other will determine the amount of users on a particular website.

Pandora is a helpful music website if you're looking to find new music. You simply search an artist and a playlist is formed based off of the genre of artist you initially chose. You can mold your playlist by liking or disliking the offered music. It is also user friendly. If you want to form another playlist, simply search another artist and a new playlist will form. I have found great artists using this website, making my endeavors effective. The only con regarding Pandora is their skips limit. You cannot skip past more than three songs. So if you dislike the song, you must carry on until it is over. Besides that inconvenience, I would recommend Pandora to my friends.

My biggest issue with Pandora (as with most services) is that ad volume far exceeds the volume of songs. Volume inconsistency does not stop there. Some songs are much louder than others. This small concept is leading to me using Pandora less and less. There was a law implemented to Television ads being much louder than the main broadcast.

" Specifically, the CALM Act directs the Commission to establish rules that require TV stations, cable operators, satellite TV providers or other multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) to apply the Advanced Television Systems Committee's (ATSC) A/85 Recommended Practice ("ATSC A/85 RP") to commercial advertisements they transmit to viewers"

The Commission adopted rules on December 13,2011 that require commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany.

I'm unsure why this doesn't also apply to Pandora's Streaming service.

As many people find that CDs, cassettes and records are not as well known as they used to be, they tend to rely on things like iTunes where you can download your music right to your computer, iPod or iPhone. The way technology has shaped our economy is a prime reason why people would prefer online downloading and sharing a lot more than going out and buying the music. While searching through web 2.0 I found websites that let you share music with other people while also listening to it for free. These websites are the key to shaping new music.
Pandora is a very effective tool because you pick your favorite songs/artist and you can listen to all their songs and their favorite songs. You pick stations to all your songs and you can have as many as you want. It is very easy to use, all you have to do is create an account and then pick your stations. The definite pro is that there is a Pandora that is free and one that is not. A con of getting the free one is that after so many songs you have to listen to 30 sec commercials.
The purpose of this website is to listen to your favorite songs/artist without buying the songs. I would recommend it to a friend.