Pandora's boom box

Call me jaded, but it's not often that new internet offerings amaze me these days.

But today, a colleague just pointed me toward something that certainly qualifies: Pandora

Pandora is an offshoot of the Music Genome Project, which analyzed songs from over 10,000 artists to break down and catalogue the musical qualities of each song, one attribute at a time.

In a nutshell, Pandora a streaming audio player that creates custom radio stations based on your own tastes. Its premise is clearly spelled out on the homepage: Can you help me discover more music that I'll like?

The interface is simple: enter an artist that you enjoy, and Pandora starts playing songs by that artist and artists with similar characteristics. You can give each song a thumbs up or down, and Pandora uses that information to find other acts that it thinks will fit your tastes.



I was listening to Interpol on my iPod this morning, so I entered that band. Pandora created a radio station called Interpol Radio, playing that band and others like it. I rated a few songs, then selected the option to add another "root" band: The Clash. The new station, which I renamed "InterClash Radio" took characteristics of those two bands (and the songs to which I gave the thumbs up) to find other acts I might enjoy.

Some were artists I already knew (and liked): The Cure, Talking Heads, U2. Others I had never heard of, but quite enjoyed (Radish, The Apples in Stereo). There were also bands I didn't care for (Velocity Girl, Polvo) - but the thumbs down icon cuts them short, and they didn't reappear.

After doing this for a while, Pandora asks you to register (free.) There's an option to pay $32 a year if you want to get rid of ads - while they say that this might include audio ads (which I loathe) I didn't hear any during the two hours I listened.

The technology is simple to use, and it's a clever idea: help people find new bands, and offer tools to promote them and buy the music. Good idea, no-brainer business model. It's an audio extension of "people who have bought this book also liked..."I have no idea how they negotiated the copyright minefield, and I don't really want to know.

But I have to say, I'm not sure that the big picture implications are terribly comforting.

If the internet already serves to isolate people into communities of similar tastes, Pandora can only kick this trend up a notch. The premise is that Pandora will expose you to acts you didn't know about, broadening your horizons. But the more I listen, the more I vote, the more I'm served only music that is well within my current tastes. Pandora isn't just preaching to the choir, it's singing to it.

Still, it's pretty hard not to open the box...