This one is really cool! Go to Pandora.com, type in your favourite music artist and start listening: Pandora now brings you track after track – full-length – of music resembling that of the artist you entered. From it’s huge music database (I think almost all US music’s there!).
Rate and improve playlist
You can finetune Pandora by giving each track it plays thumbs up or down – and Pandora immediately adjusts its playlist.
For “free”
What’s really cool is that Pandora actually is really good at this – and it’s free! That is – there’s this advertising edge to it.
First you have the choice of accepting ads or paying a premium of 3-4 $ a month.
And secondly, every track played goes with links to direct download at iTunes – or to buying the whole CD at amazon.
Innovative business model
In this way Pandora explores the new business model landscape for online music. In fits very nicely between the other business models out there. On the one hand Itunes, eg., works by selling you the individual tracks and albums to keep.
On the other hand you have Yahoo music, which allows subscribers to the service to download and play all the music you want. And lets you listen to it as long as you have a valid subscription. Prices: 5-7 $ a month.
Pandora’s subscription-based – but only allows you to listen to the musicstream itself – not to download and play at your mp3-player. Pandora is an online radio playing only tunes of your own taste.
Actually Yahoo also has a customizable radio like this on their shelves (so its not really quite new). But Pandora’s goes for this one only and does a great job of selecting music you really like to hear.