Pandora: A Web 2.0 Company Profile

Pandora was started by the Music Genome Project.  To understand Pandora’s website and capabilities it is important to understand the Music Genome Project.  The Music Genome Project was started by Will Glaser and Tim Westergren in an effort to “capture the essence of music at the fundamental level.”  They evaluate songs based on many different attributes and group songs together based on how alike they sound.

When using Pandora you can start with your favorite song or artist and Pandora will create a special station that combines your favorite artist with others of a similar sound.  In this way Pandora uses mass customization by allowing users to each create stations based on their musical preferences.  Once you create a station you can alter it by liking certain songs, telling Pandora you don’t like other songs by hitting the thumbs up or thumbs down you can see on the screen shot.  

You can even say you’re tired of some songs and Pandora will put that song on the self for a while.  In the menu you can find out why this particular song was chosen for you.  Another great feature is that you can combine stations. My favorite study station is a mixed of Disney and Jason Mraz; this station can be upbeat showtunes but also mixes in some awesome pop rock.

The awesome technology that decides which music I like is a great example of the Semantic web that Tim Berners-Lee talks about.  Originally it was a group of people that find the attributes of each song but that was turned into a computer program that allows each user to have their own original stations. This technology is crucial is provided the mass customized experience for members.

It is clear the Music Genome Project is a great idea but great idea isn’t always a profitable one.  In this video from the Colbert Report, Westergren talks about Pandora turning a profit for the first time ever in 2009.  This is extremely important in a digital age.  It is very important that Pandora be able to earn a profit while retaining users.  A major attraction for users is that Pandora offers a free membership.  The free membership comes with disadvantages.  There are ads played similar to a AM/FM radio station by way less often.  Subscribers have the option to avoid ads by paying for their membership.  This article in from the New York Times also discusses the great fortune Pandora has experienced by surviving while so many other web 2.0 companies have failed.

Wikinomics Principles: 

Openness- The technology used to determine which songs we hear on Pandora is not shared with customers or competition but Pandora has teamed up with OpenLaszlo to bring us music. OpenLaszlo is an open source platform that powers the Pandora media player. 

Peering- Pandora is a mix of a traditional hierarchical business and peering.  Pandora itself uses traditional hierarchy to run all the business aspects of the site.  The Music Genome Project, on the other hand, follows a peering model. Everyone works together to break down songs to understand their “genome” which is then added and compared to all the other songs that have been researched.

Sharing- Although the Music Genome Project does not share their technology they have gathered together music from all over and allowed their users to share with each other.  They have had to work with the music industry to gain access to all the music that the stie has to offer.

Pandora also allows users to interact with other users.  Members can share stations that they have created with each other.  Connecting with other friends is set-up through Facebook.  By partnering with Facebook, Pandora

Acting Globally- Pandora has only recently started turning a profit so the site has not expanded globally.  Currently the site is only accessible to computers in the United States.  As the site grows I’m sure they will take their innovative internet radio to the rest of the world.  Pandora has already started making alliances that will helped them make a global transition.  Pandora has teamed with iTunes and Amazon to allow users to buy music they hear on Pandora.