Online stations learn users' musical tastes

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 06/08/2008 10:06 AM  |  Entertainment

Have you ever complained there is too much talking and not enough good music on the radio.

Adventurous listeners may already be loyal to online radio stations, which -- whether it's classic rock, classical, punk, reggae or world music -- offer hours of ad-free entertainment.

Now, a number of companies have created much more personalized listening stations, in which they play tunes you don't know yet but just might like.

Say, for example, you can't enough of that incendiary track from Britney Spears or U2. After you type in the song's title and artist on the site, the station will recommend and play songs that have similar characteristics.

It may recommend Britney's fans listen to a track from Christina Aguilera and U2 aficionados listen to music by Echo & the Bunnymen -- both because of similarities in their vocal styles.

One site to look out for is Pandora Radio from the Music Genome Project. The Music Genome Project is a tool that compares the musical "genetic codes" of songs in order to create personalized radio stations.

The codes can range from the characteristic sound of the vocals, guitar, beats and samples among others. The key is algorithm, which is described as a sequence of steps designed for programming a computer to solve a specific problem.

Some call Pandora.com the music discovery engine.

Pandora founder Tim Westergren, who is also a composer, said as quoted by news.com that he started the project in 2000, initially only for friends and family. Registered users today reach around 13 million and counting.

Pandora is said to get a pool of about 6,000 new CDs each year from record labels to add to the sophisticated engine.

Independent artists, who have no backing of major labels, represent about 70 percent of the Music Genome collection, according to Angie Vega, marketing communications manager of Pandora Radio.

As the tunes are played, you can rate them with symbols such as thumbs up or down, and adjustments from the station will be made to your next song.

However, due to licensing constraints, the radio is only available for U.S. online users.

Angie told The Jakarta Post through e-mail that the company is frustrated they can no longer offer Pandora to international users.

"Our vision is to make Pandora a global service, however, the current international licensing situation makes it impossible for us. There is currently no affordable license available in any country outside the U.S. It's very hard to say when Pandora will expand internationally, but rest assured that we are definitely working on it."

Some of Pandora.com's avid users have been happy with the service although they would like to see more of the tool's capability in online music kiosks, such as iTunes.

DJs or music producers can benefit from the credible recommendations as they can search for the latest tunes or samples to fit into their sound.

One of the great advantages of online radio is that visual advertising does not conflict with the central purpose of the user, which is auditory, said Angie.

"We have spent years developing a suite of products that allow for elegant, artistic presentations of advertiser's products that surround the listener, and we always keep the user in mind," she said.

The supporters of the radio are lining up. Pandora's main advertisers include Toyota, Honda, BMW, Microsoft, Universal and ABC television station.

Pandora does not allow pop-ups or any type of disruptive ads and only presents one brand at time. Furthermore, the website uses all the information it knows about the listener's age, gender, zip code and style of music to deliver the most targeted and relevant ads to each person.

Angie added that Pandora's goal was to become the world's largest radio station , which could be tuned into at anytime and anywhere, such as in cars, on cell phones, desktops, home devices and more in every country around the world.

"By leveraging the unique qualities of the Music Genome Project, we also hope to create a musicians' middle class, providing a level playing field and a mass promotional channel for all musicians, signed, independent or otherwise."

Indonesia can learn a few tricks from them to get ahead.

Donny Namora, marketing communications person of the radio division of the MRA group, said there was yet to be a special move from regular radio in Indonesia to anticipate the boom of the likes of Pandora.

"Actually our 'enemies' are the new batch of radio broadcasts and new communication technology. Since the iPod made its mark in Indonesia, the number of radio listeners has been sliding," he added.

"Since 2006, the average number of radio listeners has been falling. However, our stations Trax FM and Hard Rock FM have been able to increase listener numbers a bit."

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