Pandora has introduced a new feature for creating playlists that combine music and podcasts or other spoken word content. The format is called Pandora Stories, and it’s being slowly rolled out in collaboration with a few celebrity curators. For instance, John Legend created a Pandora Story with some personal background about his big hits and other music that has inspired his career as an activist as well as in the music industry. Daddy Yankee has a Pandora Story, all in Spanish, where the artist talks about breaking onto the global stage and some of his personal anecdotes. Pandora also has curated a playlist called Love Songs That Aren’t Really Love Songs that features lyrics that turn romance on its head, such as “Stay With Me” and “Every Breath You Take.”
Subscribers with Pandora Premium can listen to Pandora Stories playlists ad-free. Both other tiers of access will hear ads through the programming, or they can watch one 30-second ad to unlock ad-free listening with the Premium Access feature.
Artists, songwriters, and other creators can request access to the tools of Pandora Stories from audio company’s the AMP program.