I am the type of person who can't concentrate without music. Unsurprisingly, I exhausted my Pandora radio minutes by mid-September. Now what?
I had at least ten customized radio stations on my Pandora account. I listened to my Sade radio station before I went to bed and to Audio Bullys as I woke up in the morning. I wrote my papers while listening to selected tracks by Moloko and DJ ATB. Now, to access all these saved playlists, I can a) pay 99 cents and continue listening for the rest of the month or b) pay $36 and upgrade to unlimited listening. The chances are, however, I will do neither of those.
Why? Because entering your debit card information online (even if it's for only 99 cents) does cost me an effort. It is mostly a mental barrier and if I lack the necessary incentive, I won't do it. As much as I like Pandora, I wasn't given the necessary incentive to complete an online transaction in exchange for music.
Instead, I embraced another online music service, Blip.fm. On blip.fm I not only listen to customized playlists continuously, but have the opportunity to explore new performers and enrich my music taste. I meet new DJs who send me props when they like the songs I play. I share my music with non-members as well as with Twitter users. In short, I have a lot more freedom to channel my musical enthusiasm and communicate with like-minded music fans.
So, Pandora, while you will remain on my bookmark toolbar, I don't promise to be a regular listener next month. I hope you will understand.
Photo credit: RossinaBossioB