Pandora prepares to open the 'classical' box
Pandora
is a cool way to discover music - the Pandora radio gives consistent
high quality music that is similar to music that you already know and
like. However, if you like Classical music, you are out of luck
with Pandora - there's no Classical music in the Pandora catalog.
Pandora knows this is a problem for many listeners and is doing
something about it. Last month, Steve Hogan of Pandora posted this
in response to a comment about classical music on the Pandora blog:
We do intend to make classical music available through Pandora. We're currently developing a music genome for this purpose and we'll have to populate it with enough music to create a satisfying listening experience. I can tell you there is a lot of enthusiasm within the company to offer classical music to our users - this is a large undertaking but it will be well worth the wait!
The intention to add classical music to Pandora was echoed in the recent Pandora Podcast as well.
I
do hope that they don't segregate Classical music away from all of the
rock/pop and alternative music in Pandora. I'd love to hear a
playlist that segues between a song like Eleanor Rigby and a
Mozart string quartet. And I hope that Pandora manages to roll out
their Classical collection before the RIAA manages to kill online radio.