Pandora Adding Genre-based Stations

One of the things that’s always seemed a bit odd about Pandora’s excellent internet radio service is that it doesn’t sort music by genre. Instead, you pick a song or artist you like, and Pandora will populate a custom-made radio station with songs that are similar in one way or another. Generally this works pretty well and it makes Pandora an excellent service for finding unfamiliar songs and artists you might like. But sometimes it seems like it would be a whole lot easier to just pick a genre to get started.

Someone at Pandora apparently feels the same way, because tomorrow Pandora will launch new genre-based stations. For instance, you’ll be able to select stations such as “Love Songs,” “Classic Rock,” “Today’s Hits,” or “80′s Pop” to get started. You can further personalie the stations by giving songs the thumbs up or thumbs down. Read the rest of this entry »

4 thoughts on “Pandora Adding Genre-based Stations”

  1. Actually, they’ve had some genre stations. But I think seeded based on the same sort of artist algorithm which has led to some weird pairings… And a primary reason why I prefer Slacker.

    But new, curated stations would be more appealing. Wonder how their licensing compares to Slacker in terms of available content and who’s doing the track selection? For example, the somewhat legendary Marco Collins programs Slacker’s 90s alternative station.

  2. I was listening via my laptop today and saw an interesting promo with Ford Fiesta. They created a specialized Fiesta feed that had a set playlist (I’m guessing Fiesta owners like Phoenix and Matt & Kim?).

    Good that they’re pursuing new types of ad driven business.

  3. I’m glad they are adding genre stations. This has been my biggest complaint with Pandora and just like you Dave, I preferred Slacker.

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