How+the+Internet+Changed+Music+...+Again

James Martin
//For those of you who still haven't heard of Pandora, you're in the minority. It's an online music player that implements a complicated mathematical algorithm to organize songs based on hundreds of traits - and it has changed everything.//

The Music Genome Project began in the year 2000 and set out to break individual songs down into their most fundamental attributes. Pandora's service utilizes it by having users pick a song or artist that they like, which has already been broken down by the Genome Project to its most basic attributes or "genes". The user specific radio station that results then suggests other songs that share similar genes, allowing users to give each song a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down", further customizing their station.

Although it began as just a website, Pandora has branched out onto hundreds of other devices such as mobile phones. Though federal regulations have provided hurdles, the company has managed to survive, posting its first quarterly profits in the 4th quarter of 2009. With talk of partnering with auto companies for in car players the future for Pandora is bright. Most importantly it is helping fans discover music that they may never have otherwise and at the same time gives artists a new way to get their songs out there.