Truly a remarkable and fascinating site is Pandora Internet Radio.
It’s the face of the Music Genome Project, which aims to select music for individuals according to their tastes.
Register with Pandora and you will be able to create “radio stations” that play songs you like.
I was cynical at first, but it really does work. I started by selecting The Pogues and it came up instantly with one of their songs, followed by other similar artists.
That’s where I thought it would fall down but for the most part it doesn’t. You also have the option of skipping a song if you don’t like it, albeit with a limit on the number you can skip.
I also tried a search for the Wiggles and it came up with one of their songs on the first attempt.
This intuitive selection makes it a potentially great tool for keeping the kids entertained or playing background music at a party.
Registered users get a personal home page where they can bookmark their favorites.
Pandora blocked in Australia
Update: Pandora can no longer be accessed in Australia. This is the message I get when visiting the site:
We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.
We believe that you are in Australia (your IP address appears to be 58.179.253.199). If you believe we have made a mistake, we apologize and ask that you please email us.
If you have been using Pandora, we will keep a record of your existing stations and bookmarked artists and songs, so that when we are able to launch in your country, they will be waiting for you.
We will be notifying listeners as licensing agreements are established in individual countries. If you would like to be notified by email when Pandora is available in your country, please enter your email address below. The pace of global licensing is hard to predict, but we have the ultimate goal of being able to offer our service everywhere.
We share your disappointment and greatly appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,
Tim Westergren, Founder
According to Wikipedia: Because of recent Copyright Royalty Board rulings that increase fees and ask for licensing guarantees, the Pandora service is no longer available in countries other than the United States.
