UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

Tech Sassy: Internet radio not confined to Pandora

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The Internet is at it again, trying to make us pay for our music, but don’t worry; there is a way around it.

Rumors have been buzzing on sites such as abclocal.go.com for the past month about Pandora Radio imposing a 40-hour monthly limit on free accounts. This was the case once before back in 2009, although this time it will only affect mobile versions, and for the average Internet radio user, it didn’t cause too much of a problem originally.

Now that phones are getting smarter and buying music is more expensive, some users are concerned about running out of plays. As one of those concerned users, I’ve started looking into other options for my Internet radio fix.

The first option I looked at is my go to on the Xbox platform, but I’d never looked at it as a mobile option. It’s called iHeartRadio, and it works very similarly to Pandora with a few added benefits.

The first obvious benefit is that there are no monthly limits. It is also nice to be able to use the same Internet radio service across all of my devices. It works with smartphones, computers, tablets, and even video game systems.

Another aspect you get from iHeartRadio that you rarely get with other options is the ability to listen to local and Satellite radio stations and make your own.

When the app is booted up, it scans for your local stations, including any other cities within range. You can also scan for cities across the country. All of the aspects of iHeartRadio make it a great alternative that won’t quit working on you 40 hours in.

While iHeartRadio is an excellent option, it can sometimes be a complicated option. A simpler option that is just as effective is Slacker Radio.

Slacker Radio allows you to create your own stations based on song or artist. Similar to Pandora, it cycles through what it considers similar artists or songs, and you can favorite or ban them on the station. Weeding through the music gives you a chance to fine-tune your station.

What I really love about Slacker is that it gives you more information related to the artist. It gives all of the same information as other sites, like the biography, song title and group members, but it also has a list of the group’s other songs, all of their albums, and bands who are similar to them in music style. 

Having access to all of that information makes it easy to explore and maybe even find new artists.

Even if you aren’t concerned about running out of play time with Pandora Radio, I’d recommend checking out the competition. Every option is going to have different bands, different songs, and of course a different layout to explore.