That’s a big departure for an app that used to stick to an iconic blue, and one that’s emblematic of the direction the company is taking for its on-demand service, according Becherer. For one thing, the new Pandora app automatically changes its color based on the album art of the song that’s currently playing. Personalization doesn’t stop with music recommendations. No playlist or album looks quite like another: Pandora’s new app takes its colors from the cover art of the song that’s currently playing. “It’s kind of like a personalized end cap display.” And then there is the browse section, which shows a small and curated selection of new albums based on your taste - something Becherer likened to a record store that already knows you.
Your music library is also being displayed as a list of recent plays in reverse - chronological order, not an alphabetized catalog of albums you may have added months or years ago, but not listened to ever since. Upon launch, it automatically continues with what was playing last, and a gallery of album covers displays the most recent dozen or so albums, stations, and playlists you listened to. Pandora’s new app, which can be used for both its existing radio service as well as its new on-demand tier, aims instead to get you started quickly, without the need to think long and hard about what you’d want to listen to. “They are all more or less the same: 30 million songs and a search box.” And Westergren himself even suggested that there’s not that big of a difference between, say, Apple Music and Spotify. “Most music apps still feel fairly complex,” said Pandora VP of Product Chris Becherer. Simplicity is a mantra company executives stressed over and over again during conversations about the new service. The result is a close look at a completely new Pandora that is still supposed to feel incredibly familiar. Variety was able to preview the new service for a few weeks before its official launch, and talk to key executives about the decisions that influenced its design and feature set. Others include a completely revamped design, a mixture of human expertise and machine listening to curate playlists and stations, and a less-is-more attitude that led Pandora’s team to reject a number of albums available on competing services. Using huge treasure troves of data gathered over years is a key component of Pandora’s strategy for its new premium service.
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