Pandora
By Cristina Pacheco
December 7, 2007

A click of the mouse takes you into a land where tunes abound and personal taste is recognized. Pandora, an online radio music site, offers its members free access to songs by all artists and genres 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their website, www.pandora.com, is a clean, user-friendly program dedicated to playing “music you’ll love – and nothing else.”

The idea for Pandora started in January of 2000 with the formation The Music Genome Project. The project was started by “music-loving technologists” who looked at thousands of songs, analyzing each individual song’s components - rhythm, melody, arrangement, lyrics, and harmony - trying to understand the fundamental essence of each tune. They then took their findings and made them accessible to music-loving internet users through Pandora radio. The Music Genome Project is on-going, and their staff continues to daily comb through songs from decades past to hot-hits of today, giving Pandora members access to their hard work with no cost attached.

Once a member, listeners can make countless “stations,” playing music related to the listener’s requested artist, song name, or genre. The musically-minded creators have tailored their site to each listener’s individual preference. If you like the song you hear, hit the thumbs up; if not, the thumbs down, until it plays what you want to hear. They want you to be happy with what hits your ears.

The name for Pandora, meaning “all gifted” was taken from Greek mythology for the Greek character Pandora. The goddess’ curiosity was often troublesome, but the creators of Pandora.com hope to celebrate the “musically curious” by offering them “a never-ending experience of music discovery.” Although Pandora doesn’t offer the mobility of popular iPods and MP3 players, it does offer a plethora of options for every musical preference. Exercise your curiosity and visit Pandora.com today for a unique musical experience customized “just for you.”