If I ever hear another add on Pandora I'll never listen again.
Thanks, BirdandPrez

Just wanted to let you guys know that you are doing a fantastic job! Until now, I only fantasized about THE perfect radio station; Pandora is literally a dream come true. So thank you thank you thank you!

you need to get some edfish and the sea urchins on here

JUST WANTED TO SAY HOW HAPPY I AM THAT PANDORA IS HERE FOR THE LATIN COMMUNITY ,,I LOVE THE VARIETY OF LATIN MUSIC AVAILABLE,,,ITS AWESOME, I FEEL LIKE I'M BACK HOME...THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE FOR US!!!!!!!!!!

Luke -
Duly noted! Thanks for your feedback.

Just a note, for those curious about the 10 second audio ads currently playing on some stations:

Pandora incurs substantial costs in licensing and streaming for every song it streams. In order to provide this service free to listeners we need to generate enough advertising revenue to cover our costs, including supporting the team of fifty musicians that do the complex and time-consuming work of analyzing songs for the Music Genome Project. (this analysis is what drives Pandora's matching engine, which in turn creates your playlists.)

We're working hard to ensure that we deliver ads in as tasteful and efficient a way as possible so as to minimize the impact on the listening experience, while also providing a valuable service for our advertisers. Audio advertising is one of the elements we are currently trying out, with a low frequency rate.

If you listen to Pandora for free, you're going to see or hear some ads. But of course, listeners are always welcome to become paid subscribers ($3/month) to cut out the advertising altogether.

I hope this sounds reasonable, and anybody with questions is welcome to email me any time at lucia AT pandora.com.

Lourdes and Rain -
Wow, thanks! It's an honor to be your radio provider!

Ed -
I'll send your suggestion to suggest-music AT pandora.com. Thanks!

Cheers,
Lucia
Pandora

I'm confused. I've created my "radio station" a few favorite songs. But when I click on them I only get a sample. Do yu have to pay something to hear them?

I just sent you a question about how to listen to the music I saved, you do have to purchase it don't you. So how is this FREE???? IT ISN'T IS IT? I GUESS NOTHING IS FOR FREE HUH????
Eileen

i just want to say i love to hear latin song,even i do not understand the language is...
thanks to know this site

I am new to this but so far I have to say I love it!!! I am always looking for new songs & different music, & all I had to do was type in a couple artists that i enjoy when I am a mellow mood & I am hearing so many new artists, so far I can't say I didn't terrible dislike any of them!!!

What a great concept, thank you for it!! If you are ever looking for someone to help ya out in Chicago, IL I would be more then happy to join the Pandora team!

Thank you,
April

Eileen -
Yes, Pandora radio is free, and songs should stream continuously for you in the music player.

When you're at www.pandora.com, the radio stations you create should play automatically. When you're on other Pandora pages, we offer clips of songs to listen to.

If your music player at www.pandora.com isn't working, send a quick email to pandora-support@pandora.com, and our Support team will help you out!

:) Lucia, with Pandora

It's all about Excitebike.

Synth/sine waves totally rock. I wish you guys could go a lot more in depth, I could listen for hours, but still a fun segment with cool animation.

The terribly annoying "hand shaking" with a cup of Chicago Style Tacos to advertise the IMathon or IMtalkathon or whatever is so very annoying that I minimize my Pandora screen and do nothing but listen. I rarely even click thumbs down on poor music (or thumbs up for really good music), because I am so annoyed by the stupid ad. Unless I already know the song, I don't get introduced to new or different artists. This sort of defeats the purpose of Pandora. Maybe you could play the ad for a few seconds and then move on, or just find a less annoying way of communicating.

My previously sent comment regarding the annoying shaking Chicago Style Tacos coffee cup was referenced to an email address you may not recognize. Hope you got the message about that horrible ad. Bottom line is that when that ad appears, I minimize Pandora and don't do any feedback nor get any info on new or different artists. Is it really necesary to leave that annoying animation up for what seems an eternity?

I'm with Luke. DON'T START with the audio ads. It's what makes Pandora such a treat.

If y'all start with the audio, too. I'm leaving for decreased use, another service, or none at all.

One of the reasons I am here is that your ads are seamless and non-grating on the nerves. Even 10 seconds seems to be a distraction of what Pandora is about.

As soon as you deviate from that, you can find another listener. And to think I've been giving word of mouth for you guys and you are "considering" audio ads! Hah! There goes my word of mouth advertising...at least positive until I hear that the audio advertising has stopped on all stations. The negative advertising starts as soon as I hear an audio ad with your service. Bah!

Thanks, John and freespearit, for your feedback on advertising. I appreciate your candor!

:) Lucia

This really is not my kind of station I like to listen to.
I love variety, but when I want to listen to Roger Whittaker, I want to hear nothing but Roger's Songs.
I also love to hear german music, from artists like Vicky Leandros, Andy Borg, Bernhard Brink, Andrea Berg, Roland Kaiser, Michael Holm,
Andreas Matin, G.G. Anderson, Nana Mouskouri (Greek) Roger Whittaker of course, and many more.
If you want to hear beautiful music, and you could understand it, that is music!

You are not organized enough for me. Sorry

Please consider adding the gender and presence of the singer to the selection process. I enjoy female singers. I set up a station for Hayley Westenra at the moment it's playing Josh Gorban? Sorry I see (hear) no correlation between the 2.
Thanks Jer

I stand in awe and admiration. I've been on Pandora for a mere 3 days, and I am completely obsessed. I love music and have been unable to update my knowledge for the past dozen years for a wide variety of reasons. My attempts to get help in this matter have been completely ineffective up until now. Pandora inspires me and I love the spontaneous format. I delight in exploring the various features that allow me to read about the band, hear samples, and see what bands are similar as considered by the genome project as well as interests of people who enjoy the current band. I have already recommended the site to a good friend, whom immediately became as obsessed with Pandora as myself. I have been hearing from various mathematicians and colleagues about this site for some time. I am just so glad to finally be here. Thank you so much for giving us access to this wealth of information and introduction to music we would love to hear that wouldn't be available in our local communities!

One unexpected result is that I look forward to the time I spend on my computer and, as a result, am happily spending more time on work that absolutely must be done. I click on Pandora regularly to see what the name of the band is currently on my radio. For that, I give you special thanks.

Jerry -
Gender of the singer is indeed noted during our music analysis. If you start a station from females and then thumbs down any male singers who come along, you'll get an all-female station. It just takes a little bit of customization on your part.
Have fun!

MathRobin -
Wow, thanks so much! That's exactly what we like to hear!!

:) Lucia, from Pandora

You are more than welcome! Thank you for your quick reply! I originally clicked on this blog due to the suggested topics. I am interested in answers to a couple of those topics.

Question 1: So, what IS the difference between bookmarking and thumbs up?

Question 2: What steps should a band, past or present, take in order to be considered for admission to the music genome project?

I hope to get brave soon and write a description of my radio station, which apparently makes it accessible to other listeners. My friend and I have sent each other songs several times thanks to the share feature. It would be really interesting for me to be able to sample her radio station. I also greatly enjoy the feature that allows me to see other listeners' music preferences when I am reading about a band currently playing on my radio. Sometimes I wonder what their radio stations are like. This leads me to my final question.

Question 3: How do I access other listeners' radio stations?

Thank you for everything!

After investigation, I have discovered how to listen to radio stations created by members that share musical interests according to their listing. I've even bookmarked my first person, so that later I can investigate the bands in his/her list that I don't know, expecting great results since I recognize so many of the bands on the list. I have yet to find out where to search for a particular listener.

I see one difference between thumbs up and bookmark is the listing on the personal links. I read in your introductory email that thumbs up makes the song an "invisible seed" for generation of future songs on the radio station. Anything else I should know about it?

Whew. Glad to catch you before posting my previous questions. I realized the picture was a video that explains the answers to the blog topics, so now I know about the difference between thumbs up (affects radio station) and bookmark (neutral data bank visible on profile). I have also bookmarked the page with the information about sending music (http://www.blog.pandora.com/faq/#31). I haven't located a menu choice that yields this particular page, so I wouldn't have known this information without watching the video.

I think the only thing I am still looking to find is the way to request to see a particular listener's profile, so that I might access my friend's radio. I do realize we will need to enter a description of the radio in order to make it available.

Happy Tuesday, Pandora Crew!

I am so grateful for Pandora, I couldn't care less that you need to put ads on it. Bring them on if it keeps you going and solvent. I've been around a long time and Pandora is the best thing that has happened to music in the 50+ years I've been a musician and avid music collector. BRAVO PANDORA! I am in love with every one of you for bringing me such great new and old tunes. My 13 year old caught me listening one day and has spread the word to all of her friends...like a great wave of music. To all you purists who have obviously grown up in DisneyHappyChocolate Playland--get over it. The dudes have to generate revenue to keep it going somehow. Have you never heard of economics 101? Keep on keeping on, Wonderful Pandora pals.
Love, DEF

Thanks Pandora for everything! I really enjoy listening and find new artists and interesting songs on here. My favorite music is Christian music, and there's plenty of it here! :]

~Sarah

Tim, with all due respect, Everyone at is much more than just "ears"! I tip my hat to all the guy's and gal's @pandora....Thank you all!

Mark

Thanks for all the great comments; you guys rock!

:) Lucia, from Pandora

The music here is on time. The ads are no bother and just like my man said economics 101, do what you got to do to make it happen.

thanks...

With my headset on, volume cranked, I have to say, Pandora rocks!!! Great Job People!!!

a friend in a curio shop gave me your web site and it is GREAT. i love to listen to tunes while i am on line, by the way i am 80 years young and the music i choose is great. thank you so much.

Apparently you have decided to go ahead with the audio ads. I am so disappointed. I just won't listen anymore if I hear another audio ad.