iTunes is great about dividing up its streaming radio stations by genre. If you want to listen to Punk or Pop you can usually find a station that plays it. However what if you love Bob Marley, but want to hear him and other artists that sound similar? Or maybe Pink Floyd. Pandora fills this need in spades.
When you go to the site its as simple as typing in an artist you like, and I was hard pressed for it to miss any of the names I tried.
Next is when the magic happens. The music genome project, is a research project put together by Tim Westergren a Stanford Grad, that has set out to catalog music in a unique fashion. Screeners that “[have] a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance, [and have] passed through a selective screening process” rate each musical composition using some 400 individual characteristics . The project has been cataloging tracks since 2000, each taking 20 to 30 minutes each. In effect the project has created musical DNA. Using this classification system and an algorithm Pandora is able to create a “Radio Station” for you that will not only play tracks by the artist you typed in, but also tracks sharing the same DNA, so to speak. From personal use and talking to others the stations have an uncanny ability to introduce users to new music that appeals to their preferences.
The exact size or number of tracks included in the catalog I was unable to discern, but from using it for about 3 months now I can say it contains everything from the mainstream to the eclectic. It may not contain the rogue recording of that local bar singer down the street, but if you are interested in discovering more about a genre I’ve found typing in one of the big names, for example I was interested in blues and typed in B.B. King and as new artists that I appreciated popped up in the rotation I added them to the station, in effect creating a station of blues music composed of only artists and tracks that have musical qualities that appealed to me. All I can say is its freaking awesome. I went on to create stations of all my favorite jam bands, relaxing music, and angry music. I tend to vary my musical tastes on mood, and Pandora seems almost tailored to that style.