While I’m sure many of you enjoy a quiet work environment, for most people, complete silence isn’t always possible. When I am in need of pure silence I will sometimes put on my headphones with no music playing into them. It serves as a notice to those sitting around me that I don’t want to chat and would prefer not to be disturbed.
But for those other time when I’d rather just have some great music in the background, I turn to Pandora…
…what is Pandora?
Pandora is a free internet radio. It works like this:
- You type in an artist, song or genre that you feel like listening to and Pandora creates your own personal radio station with music full of other songs and artists that sound similar to that.
- And for the most part they are right on the money, quite an ingenious idea.
If they happen to mess up, or you happen to just not like one of the songs, just click the “dislike” thumbs down button and that song will never be replayed on that station again.
You also have the option of the “like” button, if the song if one of your favorites or “skip” if you just aren’t in the mood for that particular song. The only annoying thing about the “skip” button is you are only allowed a certain amount per hour, so if you reach your allotted skips you may want to switch and pick a new station.
Why not just use iTunes you might ask?
- iTunes costs money and doesn’t really have a radio feature.
- In addition, with Pandora, I get to find out and discover all of these new cool songs that I never would have stumbled upon had I not been listening to it.
How do they do it?
Well, it’s all a part of this thing they call the music genome project. It’s pretty neat.
They have over 50 musical analysts working for them who study all of the different songs which gives them the ability to place them in certain categories and create your stations.
They even try to keep up to date with new artists and songs, by continuously updating their site. I remember when I first started listening to Pandora a few years ago, their variety wasn’t nearly as enormous as it is today. Plus now they let you create up to 100 personalized internet radio stations to fit whatever you are in the mood for.
Another great addition to Pandora, is now they have Pandora Mobile.
Pandora mobile is fully integrated with the web, so you get all of the same features that you would if you were on your own laptop or desktop at home:
- like button
- dislike button
- skip button
- and the ability to create your own stations remotely.
The only thing you need is an internet connection on your phone. Then you can be up and running, listening to the newest music and discovering songs that may turn out to be some of your favorites. If you are a music lover like me, this will be your new favorite site. 
Happy Listening!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
A link?
Hi Michael,
The link is: http://www.pandora.com Sorry for the oversight.
Tim
Free unless you exceed the max allowable time (40 hours, I think). Then it’s $0.99 for the rest of the month. Easiest just to get an account and you’re good.
Oh, and more (really) free music with an eclectic bent: http://www.radioparadise.com
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the link.
Tim
Pandora generally doesn’t work outside the USA. Also, stating that iTunes doesn’t have radio is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever heard – it’s had great Internet radio since version 1.0, released back in January 2001! Plus, iTunes costs money? The program itself is free. You can download limitless Creative Commons content for free. I just don’t see what you’re talking about.
Your article is great at explaining Pandora, but is sketchy on the facts. Very sketchy.
I suggest people check out Last.fm if they want a similar service that will work in any country. In many countries it is free, but in some countries it will require a small monthly fee to use it (but at least it’s available).
Hello,
My oversight. Thank you for pointing that out.
Tim
Pandora is not accessible for residents outside the US. However, for those in the UK, two alternatives are We7 – http://www.we7.com – or Spotify – http://www.spotify.com . For Spotify you download a programme onto your computer, which is not great for work, where many are not allowed to download onto their workstations. We7, however, has all the music streaming from online. And you can find all sorts of artists. There is an advertisement for a few seconds at the beginning of some songs, but as you listen, you build up “ad-free days”.
There is a “similar artists” function that can fill the role of Pandora, too.
I enjoy We7, and think it is very usable. Also, when I once had a problem, they responded to my query within a few hours incredibly helpfully.
Try it out.
And for those of you in the US, keep enjoying Pandora, I used to love it when you could listen from the UK.
http://www.twitter.com/grumbar
It sounds interesting, Michael. There’s also Spotify.com which is currently available only in UK , Sweden, France and Spain: http://www.spotify.com/en/help/faq/ . It is free of charge. It streams your chosen music (playlist) on your PC while you work or browse. It also offers internet radio. The annoyances (adverts, non-availability of some bands and artists, etc) may put some people off. There are doubtless other drawbacks, but I like it.
Poor headline. Should read “Listen to music for free while you work.”
I hope no one is working for free.
Great point. Thx for the heads-up!
Thank you!
Ooh. Great stuff. Thank you!
Don’t forget playlist.com!
Great point! Thank you!