Did you ever wish you could program your own radio station to play only your kind of music? Or that someone would take the time to analyze the things you like about one song or artist and create a station full of music that you would enjoy? Or do you wish you had the time to discover new music you would like?
Well today is your lucky day! I have found the most liberating, exciting, jamming website to do all that and more. Normally, I would never endorse a website, but this site has changed the way I listen to music. For those who have not heard, www.pandora.com is revolutionizing how people do music. Site founder Tim Westergren should be applauded for allowing individuals the opportunity to once again relive their glory years through music.
What does the site offer?
The site offers free radio stations (up to 100) of music tailored to your tastes. It is the best custom matching music service I have seen. Based on one artist or song, the site is able to create a custom radio station with hours of streaming music.
How does it do this?
No, it really can’t read your mind, but it can match up music based on what you like. In January of 2000, a group of musicians and techies joined together in the hopes of creating the most comprehensive music analysis around. This led to the creation of the Music Genome Project. The site categorizes music based on its attributes, or “genes." According to the December issue of Fast Company magazine, the Music Genome Project maps the DNA of individual songs based on as many as 400 different elements. Type in any artist or song title and Pandora instantly creates a radio station dedicated to that artist based on attributes such as acoustic harmony or electronic instrumentation to create a string of songs you might like.
What if I don’t like the song it chooses?
The great part about Pandora is that the site is constantly trying to better tailor music to your tastes. As a new song is played, the listener can actually give a song a “thumbs up" or “thumbs down." The site is then able to learn from that and refigure the DNA to once again pick songs that are better matches.
How much does it costs?
For those who do not mind advertisements, the cost is free. Otherwise, the site charges $36 per year.
How many songs does the site have?
Glad you asked. I am a Christian music fanatic and I was really skeptical the first time I heard about the site. The great news is that Pandora has over 300,000 songs from over 10,000 artists. They have all genres from country to rock to hip hop to jazz to indie. The only type of music the site does not carry is classical.
The great thing about Pandora is that it broadens your horizons. You will discover music you might not have known existed otherwise. It offers the chance to place songs on a favorites page so that you can remember them. Because of a partnership with iTunes and Amazon, if you find a song you really like and just have to buy, it is only a click away. So check out the site! Make your own opinion! Get jamming!
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