SiriusXM announced today that subscribers will be able to create personalized music stations with Pandora. The new feature is available to SiriusXM All Access and Premier subscribers.
Integrating Pandora’s algorithms into the SiriusXM app has been an on-going project. SiriusXM acquired Pandora over six months ago and we’re now seeing the fruits of that partnership. SiriusXM is focusing big on podcasts too, making some of its exclusive shows available on Pandora as podcasts.
Personalized stations are a mix of Pandora’s free service and SiriusXM. Pandora’s Music Genome Project powers the categorization system with SiriusXM’s music library. Subscribers create stations using the SiriusXM app by picking a song or artist to seed the new station. Then the station will learn music preferences and recommend new songs as you rate what you hear.
While SiriusXM Select subscribers aren’t getting access to these customized music stations, they are getting new features. Select subscribers now have access to unlimited streaming on multiple devices and over 100 curated Xtra music channels.
All subscribers also get access to a preview of SiriusXM Video. That service offers hundreds of in-studio performances and behind-the-scenes footage from musicians. Many artists such as Cardi B, Jonas Brothers, P!NK, Florida Georgia Line and more have participated.
Pandora tech powering the SiriusXM app may help the satellite provider rope in new subscribers. But given that podcasts are available in Pandora and SiriusXM Premier costs $13/month, maybe not.
Talk radio fans may enjoy being introduced to talk shows similar to their interests. If you’re not already a subscriber of SiriusXM, the same tech powers Pandora Premium for only $10/month.
SiriusXM offers introductory vehicle subscription packages for as low as $5/month and three months of Sirius XM outside the car for $1. SiriusXM has an audience of 100 million listeners and the company is hoping to grow beyond the car.