Tech innovation spotlight: Launch of Pandora internet radio

Metro Newspapers

'It’s readily obvious by talking with this youthful 43-year-old that he enjoys his job. Back in 2000, along with Will Glaser and Jon Kraft, the Stanford graduate began the ambitious Music Genome Project, a scientific examination of songs using vectors and algorithms that eventually lead to the creation of Pandora, a music aggregate that dispenses songs in the form of “stations” that are completely unique for each listener. First, a listener picks an artist or genre to create a “station.” The user’s tastes are determined each time he or she clicks “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” buttons indicating preference; the “skip” button is neutral. To ensure exposure to new music, no more than four songs from the same artist are played in a three-hour period on any given user’s station. “Every submission gets a listen,” Westergren says of the 12,000 new songs that come in per month, “but it has to be good.” To increase critical consistency, each of Pandora’s 50 music analysts typically holds a four-year degree in music theory and undergoes a rigorous 100-hour training regimen...'

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