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7 Best Pandora for Business Alternatives
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If your business doesn’t already have a soundtrack, it’s time to get started. According to scientific research, well-chosen background music assists sales and customer satisfaction alike.
In fact, a Gallup survey found that bars that play upbeat, rhythmic music can enjoy profit increases of nearly 41%. On the other hand, a slower soundtrack can increase restaurant income by 8%. Music doesn’t just impact sales, either—it may also help employees feel more relaxed, boosting their productivity in the process.
Unfortunately, choosing the wrong background music could actively deter potential customers from doing business with you.
Thanks to the advent of streaming services, playing music is as easy as downloading the right mobile apps. In 2023, music streaming via subscriptions and ad-supported services was responsible for over 67% of global recorded music revenue—but music services like these aren’t the right fit for your business.
You’ll have to choose a commercial service to get the convenience of music streaming apps with the licensing and features businesses need. Many companies rely on Pandora for Business for this purpose, but it isn’t necessarily the best solution out there. Instead, you’d be better off looking for a Pandora for Business alternative like Soundtrack Your Brand.
Posted on May 14, 2024
What Is Pandora for Business?
Pandora for Business is an enterprise music product offered by the business music streaming service Pandora. Today, Pandora’s technology serves as the underlying music platform for products from both CloudCover and Mood Media.
Pros and Cons of Pandora for Business
On the surface, Pandora for Business may look like the perfect service provider for your company’s music streaming needs. It offers Pandora internet radio stations for business clients along with licensing coverage and features such as music and in-store messaging scheduling.
But Pandora for Business also has some surprising weaknesses. For example, businesses using this service can’t play music on demand. Additionally, Pandora for Business comes with fewer ready-made playlists and a more limited music selection than some competing services. Finally, Pandora for Business offers licensing only in the U.S. and Canada.
7 Pandora for Business Alternatives
To avoid the drawbacks associated with Pandora for Business, you should look at some alternative options. Here are seven competitors to consider:
1. Soundtrack Your Brand
Soundtrack Your Brand offers useful features and a music library of over 100 million licensed songs and 1,000 playlists at a highly affordable price.
The service offers high-quality music to customers in 74 countries. In the US, that includes licenses for songs covered by ASCAP and BMI, which includes 95% of all songs available to American businesses.
Currently, Soundtrack is the only commercial music service that lets businesses play songs on demand and directly import their Spotify playlists. It also offers features like song-blocking capabilities, an explicit lyrics filter, and music scheduling. Plus, it’s the only music service that offers an AI Playlist Generator that crafts tailored playlists in seconds.
2. SiriusXM for Business
Since SiriusXM owns Pandora, SiriusXM for Business isn’t technically a Pandora for Business competitor, but it is a popular service for legally streaming licensed music in restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and other businesses. It offers over 200 playlists, Pandora artist stations, and satellite radio stations, but it doesn’t allow on-demand streaming and is available only in the U.S.
3. SoundMachine
SoundMachine has over 61 million licensed tracks and 250 ready-made playlists, but like other Pandora for Business alternatives it doesn’t offer on-demand music streaming nor explicit lyrics filters. The latter of which can be a drawback for business owners, as playing explicit music can cause a bad customer experience.
Further, SoundMachine doesn’t display what’s in a playlist until it’s playing, and it does not offer a search or selection by business type.
While the service does allow users to import playlists from consumer services, it does so with strict guidelines and requires third-party apps. Imported playlists must have at least 100 songs and 20 different artists, and songs marked explicit are rejected, which may be limiting for some businesses.
4. Soundsuit
German-based SaaS music service Soundsuit.fm claims to have a catalog of over 100 million tracks and 500+ playlists. However, Soundsuit is another service provider limited to pre-made playlists, limiting customers from being able to play songs on demand through their service.
5. Mood Media
Mood Media is a legacy background music platform, offering commercially licensed music as well as services such as in-store signage and scents. With a relatively limited selection, they too offer Pandora for Business, as CloudCover does. Mood Media does not offer the ability to play what you want when you want, nor does it allow you to import your Spotify playlists and play them legally in your business.
6. PlayNetwork
Also owned by Mood Media, PlayNetwork offers curated playlists and audio-visual displays. However, PlayNetwork’s catalog of 120,000 songs is quite limited compared to other Pandora for Business competitors on this list.
7. TouchTunes
Unlike most other entries on this list, TouchTunes isn’t a traditional streaming service—instead, it’s a modernized jukebox. However, since choosing the right music can drive repeat business among 39% of US residents, leaving your soundtrack in the hands of your customers can be a risk.
How To Choose the Right Pandora for Business Alternative for Your Business
We’ve looked at some of the top commercial music streaming services available today. Before you choose one of the Pandora for Business alternatives listed above, be sure to think about:
Choice of Music
Even if your business primarily relies on playlists, the ability to play whatever you want, whenever you want, gives you the freedom to curate the perfect soundscape.
A professional music streaming service that offers a wide catalog of songs—and allows you to play them on demand—can be key to setting the right mood, creating the right atmosphere, and targeting the right customers.
Curated Playlists and Stations
On the other hand, you need to be able to trust your music streaming platform to pick music for you. You have plenty of tasks that demand your attention, and so do your staff.
The best enterprise streaming services offer thousands of playlists created by an algorithm and custom station capabilities—including the ability to enter a prompt and let your streaming service generate a bespoke playlist based on your preferences.
Licensing
Before your business can play music in public, you’ll need to have licenses from various performing rights organizations (PROs) like BMI, GMR, and ASCAP. A streaming service that comes with these licenses will save you the trouble (and expense) of getting them on your own.
Additional Features
Your business’s chosen platform for music streaming should also include a variety of powerful features. To that end, look for services that offer explicit lyrics filtering, playlist scheduling, and the ability to import Spotify playlists.
Business Music Streaming FAQs
Here are answers to common questions about business music streaming. If we don’t answer your question here, please contact us.
Can Pandora be used in a business?
Your personal Pandora account is intended to let you listen to your favorite artists and discover new music, but it cannot legally be streamed over a sound system in a business. A personal Pandora account can only be used for private use. This is true for both the free music and paid versions.
Pandora for Business is the enterprise option, and business owners must purchase a subscription to Pandora for Business if they want to use Pandora in a business setting.
Is Pandora for Business worth it?
The answer to this question must be determined by each individual business owner. Pandora for Business starts at $26.95 per month. It’s ad-free and doesn’t require a contract. But while a cheaper service may be attractive, the smaller music catalog and limited functionality would be drawbacks for many business owners.
Can I use Spotify to stream music in my business?
While Spotify is a popular choice for personal music streaming, this service isn’t meant for commercial use. Soundtrack Your Brand is the closest thing you’ll find to a business version of Spotify—the company was founded as “Spotify for Business” in 2013, and businesses can easily add their existing Spotify playlists directly to Soundtrack.
Can I stream Apple Music in my business?
In 2019, Apple formed a partnership with PlayNetwork to develop a music streaming solution for commercial clients: Apple Music for Business. However, this product was discontinued in 2021 and Apple specifically states in its terms of service that you cannot use Apple Music for business or commercial use.
Start Streaming (Legally) Today
Once you know what to prioritize in your search for a Pandora for Business alternative, it’s easy to see why Soundtrack Your Brand is the number-one choice in this category.
The platform offers on-demand playback, convenient stations and playlists, comprehensive music licensing, and all the features you could ever need.
The Soundtrack iOS app can be downloaded to a mobile device, tablet, Mac, or Windows PC. It can also be downloaded to a Sonos controller. Meanwhile, the optional Soundtrack Player hardware can store up to 400 hours of music that can be played without an internet connection.
Ready to get started?
See how Soundtrack works for you and your business. Get our most exclusive features with a no obligation 14 day trial, unlocking everything available in Soundtrack Unlimited.
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