Welcome to Roadtrip Central! This is a continuing chronicle of my journey around the country, as I meet with Pandora listeners and musicians to learn about what you want to see happen with music in this digital age. I hope you enjoy reading about my past stops - from a three person meet-up in a Biloxi diner to a packed get-together in a huge MIT lecture hall.
I hope you'll take a minute to share your favorite bands, clubs, lodging and eateries in your city. If you don't see your state on the blog, just post to 'Other States' and I'll make a note to try and visit! I look forward to meeting and hearing from you!
Cheers...
Tim (Founder)
Tucson Town Hall
Back from the desert...
Had a great gathering with Arizonians last Sunday at the Rialto Theatre in downtown Tucson.
As always, the get togethers in smaller towns have a certain special character. About 150 braved driving rain and howling wind to make it out. Tons of tons of questions - it seemed we could have gone on into the night, but I didn't want to make people miss the Oscars !
Lots of talk about the playlist methodology - especially about variety/repetition, an issue we're really focused on. It's clear that some stations on Pandora have become too narrow, and we need to figure that out.
A number of folks also asked about the prospect for an open API, to allow individual developers to start building on the platform. We're not there yet, but it's certainly food for thought.
It was also great to meet a handful of folks from the local radio station - clearly looking to find ways to help evolve broadcast radio onto the web. One Dj in attendance asked about access to local 'thumb' information so he could use it to help build relevant playlists for his audience. Interesting.
Met a couple grad students working on some interesting pattern matching stuff too.
Thanks again to everyone for coming out. It was a pleasure meeting all of you...
Next up is Seattle on Wednesday this week. 7pm at the Public Library. Should be fun - St. Patrick's Day!
Tim (Founder)
Phoenix, AZ recap
FInally time to catch up on the cross country swing from before the holidays - AZ, CO, DC. Kicked it off with a lovely visit to the Arizona desert. Balmy weather.
I started the day with fun visit to the Cahill Senior Center to meet with some older listeners. Was hit with caustic glances when I suggested we try a Tommy Dorsey station to start... they wanted some 'rock stuff', like Coldplay, U2 etc. and "some country". "classic country?" I asked... "no, you fool, Leanne Rimes and Keith Urban.." Talk about stereotyping... guilty. Very fun to see how easy Pandora was for folks who aren't all about technology. They talked about sharing it with their grandkids. Love it! Thanks to Diana for being such a gracious host.
Then drove over the Thunderbird - the big local business school for a chat with some energetic entrepreneurs. Lots of questions about the business model, not surprisingly...
Continue reading "Phoenix, AZ recap"
Phoenix/Tempe Town Hall meeting tonight!
Come by the ASU campus tonight if you're in the area for a Town Hall meetup with Phoenix and Tempe residents. Lots of insightful feedback so far from college students and ASU meet should be just as interesting!
Details:
When: Monday, November 13th, 2006 - 7 pm
Where: ASU Lyceum Theater, 901 South Forest Mall, Tempe AZ
Hope to see you there!
Tim (Founder)
Update: It looks like I'll be stopping by the Phoenix area to host a town hall meet on November 13th, on the ASU campus. All the details below. Looking forward to visiting!
WHAT: Pandora Town Hall
WHERE: ASU Lyceum Theater, 901 South Forest Mall, Tempe AZ
Directions
WHEN: November 13th, 2006 @ 7PM
RSVP by sending an email to tour@pandora.com with "ASU" in the subject line!
I'm currently planning an itinerary for my tour stop in Arizona. Come mid-November, I'll be stopping in Phoenix for a town hall meeting, and would love the opportunity to meet Pandora student listeners at nearby schools like Arizona State University. Also looking at getting out to Tucson if time permits. If you have any suggestions for appropriate venues on the college campus, whether at a music class or in the student union, don't hesitate to leave a comment below. We want to get you involved!
We love reading and responding to your feedback on the blog - the comments have been a treasure trove of great insights and guidance as we plan our visits. If you have a particular idea you want to discuss, or just want to get more involved, we're eager for help - just drop us an email at tour@pandora.com. Please include your location in the subject line of your message too. No idea is too big or small!
