Pandora has added Alexa powered voice control of Sonos wireless speakers from within the music streamer’s app. Many anaylyats believe that voice control of music is the killer app that will bring music streaming into the mainstream.
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Pandora today added voice control of Sonos wireless speakers from its mobile app. More than 50% of U.S. Sonos owners use Pandora, racking up 250 million listening hours so far this year.
Listeners can now control Sonos directly through the Pandora mobile app and command Pandora stations with voice commands via Alexa. Voice control also extends to Pandora Premium, its on-demand service which launched earlier this year and recently passed the 1 million subscriber mark.
“As a category, listening through connected home and voice-activated devices is exploding and represents a huge opportunity for us,” said Roger Lynch, the new CEO & President of Pandora. “As you saw with our announcement today with Sonos, we’re going to keep working closely with our partners to make sure the Pandora listening experience throughout the home is as intuitive and seamless as possible.”
Voice control highlights from Pandora:
Control all of your in-home music needs from Pandora’s intuitive and easy-to-navigate mobile app — select and play music, group and ungroup speakers, move your music from room to room, adjust volume, and create the perfect mood for any occasion.
- Access on-demand features with Pandora Premium — search and play any song, album or playlist.
- Go hands-free and ask Alexa to play favorite Pandora stations on your Sonos device with voice-control commands.
- Share control with friends who can DJ your in-home Sonos system through their Pandora app.
- Works with all tiers of service — Pandora, Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium.
“Sonos owners have enjoyed their favorite Pandora stations in any room since the service joined the Sonos platform back in 2007,” said Allen Mask, VP of Partnerships at Sonos. “It is now easier for listeners to access and control all of their music from Pandora, whether it’s from the Sonos app, with voice, and now from within the Pandora app – all working together seamlessly.”
Sonos listeners can try Pandora Premium with a free 60-day trial: www.pandora.com/upgrade/premium.
Stay tuned for our review of the Alexa powered Sonos One wireless speaker over the next few days.