We’re rolling out a batch of changes at Pandora tonight and this time it’s a big upgrade.
Since we launched Pandora two years ago we’ve been laser focused on delivering the best possible listening experience. Our frame has always been that listening is the center of the entire musical experience and that community, commerce, and sharing all flow from listening. Tonight we’ve launched a new release that brings these other elements to the foreground and ties them into the listening experience.
The new system is called Pandora Extras and it lets us place dynamic content and functionality alongside the music player. Tonight we’re shipping four of these Extras:
- Now Playing: tells you all about the song, album, and artist you’re hearing, recommends other similar songs and bands, and points you to other Pandora listeners that are fans.
- Friends: helps you keep tabs on all your friends that use Pandora so you can learn from their music discoveries. Find all your friends with a few clicks by importing your web mail address book.
- Genre Stations: lets you explore unfamiliar parts of the music universe by sampling over 100 genre stations.
- Pandora Presents…: features our new series of Pandora-produced podcasts and videos.
What’s most exciting about this though is it’s an entirely new palette for us to paint on; this is the beginning of a larger vision for Pandora. We’ve got all kinds of ideas for future “Extras” to add to the system and what we’re rolling out tonight gives us a flexible design that will allow us to add literally dozens of new options to compliment listening. It’s a whole new world for us.
There are a few other little things tucked into this release for you to enjoy as well. For example, you can now comment on album, artist, and song pages. Have fun exploring and as always we’d love to hear what you think by leaving us a comment here or by dropping us a note at pandora-support@pandora.com.