The digital music world has become a confusing jumble of online stores, generic radio stations, and illegal downloading programs (Napster vs. Metallica, anyone?). If rifling through the virtual smorgasbord of choices isn’t your cup of tea, there is a friendlier option out there. Pandora, an offshoot of the Music Genome Project, offers listeners the chance to create and customize streaming audio “stations” according to their personal tastes. The Music Genome Project is a momentous, user-created database that categorizes 60 years of music, from a wide variety of genres (sorry, classical and world music fans—they haven’t gotten to you yet). It seeks to identify the “genes” that make up the identity of a song—upwards of 400 different attributes based on technical makeup and listener appeal. Now, fueled by this database, the Genome Project geniuses have created Pandora —a Web-based music player that allows users to personalize up to 100 stations that, theoretically, will cater to the listener’s every whim. Here’s how it works: You tell Pandora a song, album or artist you like, and it spits back a radio station designed around the musical attributes of that selection. It even explains the reasoning behind the songs it chooses. Still not satisfied? Well, you can always add songs you like to a favorites list for later reference. And, for all you control freaks out there, there are other ways to refine the station as you listen. Giving a song a “thumbs down,” for instance, causes similar-sounding tracks to play less often.
Yes, registration is required, but at least it’s free (you can also subscribe to access the ad-free version). Rewinding is not permitted, because that would allow users to play specific songs on demand, which is a no-no for streaming audio sites. Same goes for too many skips in one hour—if you want to find a specific song, Pandora suggests that you buy it on iTunes or Amazon.com. Technicalities aside, the site’s sleek and simple design is sure to steal you away from other pocket-gouging digital music options. Why? Because their goal is to help curious music-lovers discover new tunes—no credit card (or jail time) required. Mission accomplished.
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Thousands of tunes at your fingertips (legally!)
The digital music world has become a confusing jumble of online stores, generic radio stations, and illegal downloading programs (Napster vs. Metallica, anyone?)