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Following its acquisition by SiriusXM in September, Pandora today announced that it will begin offering specialized podcast curation under the Podcast Genome Project. Similar to its Music Genome Project, the PGP will launch in a public beta format and combine human curation with advanced machine learning to offer users specific podcast recommendations, "down to the episodic level."

pandora-podcasts-update.jpg

Pandora says that the Podcast Genome Project will evaluate content based on more than 1,500 attributes like MPAA ratings, timely topics, production style, content type, host profile, and combine this with listener signals like thumb ratings, skips, and replays. Machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and collaborative filtering methods will also work in tandem with Pandora's in-house curation team to give each user unique podcast recommendations that evolve as their preferences change.
"It might feel like podcasts are ubiquitous, but, eighty-three percent of Americans aren't yet listening to podcasts on a weekly basis, and a majority of them report that's because they simply don't know where to start," said Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer, Pandora. "Making podcasts - both individual episodes and series - easy to discover and simple to experience is how we plan to greatly grow podcast listening while simultaneously creating new and more sustainable ways to monetize them."
Pandora's podcast partners include PM, Gimlet, HeadGum, Libsyn, Maximum Fun, NPR, Parcast, PRX+PRI, reVolver, Slate, The New York Times, The Ramsey Network, The Ringer, WNYC Studios, and Wondery. The company says that these partners and the amount of podcasts on the platform will continue to grow over time.

Besides podcast listening, Pandora offers online radio streaming to its users, and last year launched "Pandora Premium" as a competitor to Apple Music and Spotify. At $9.99 per month, subscribers can ditch ads, search for and play any song, create playlists, download music for offline listening, and receive unlimited skips and replays.

While Apple Podcasts has been the hub for many users to listen to their favorites shows, more of the company's competitors have begun supporting podcasts as interest in the format grows. In the summer of 2017, a report by Bloomberg claimed that Spotify was planning to "come after" Apple with a strong push into podcasts, and since then it has added NPR's catalog of podcasts and the BBC's shows into the music streaming app.

Those interested in Pandora's Podcast Genome Project can sign up for the beta here.

Article Link: Pandora Announces Personalized Podcast Curation With the 'Podcast Genome Project'
 

Dj64Mk7

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2013
1,248
444
To this day no one has beat Pandora's ability for suggesting music that I actually end up liking.

The only issue is Pandora’s extremely limited library compared to Apple Music or Spotify.
 

OldSchoolMacGuy

Suspended
Jul 10, 2008
4,197
9,050
Stinks that Pandora has such a limited music library. Haven't heard anything new added to my stations in years. Even popular new tracks within the proper genre never appear. They've really stopped moving forward long ago and instead looked at opportunities to monetize more.
 
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Joniz

macrumors 6502a
Sep 21, 2017
673
1,621
The only issue is Pandora’s extremely limited library compared to Apple Music or Spotify.

Yes, but when their suggestions from their vast library are complete crap, all that extra music doesn’t make much difference.

I, too, find that Pandora is much, much better at suggesting songs that are like the ones I base them off of and that I like. Both Spotify & Apple Music seem to not give a hoot about finding music that matches my tastes.

“You like French Café Accordian? Here’s a rap song we think you’ll enjoy.”

What?
 
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Guda.FL

macrumors 6502
Sep 23, 2015
375
470
I chose Pandora premium with the new att plan. While i really like the song selections they give, its interface and bugs im experiencing with carplay and daily use falls behind Spotify.

Even when i select the artist albums it will randomly play other artists or wont have majority of the songs. Needs work.

And you cant go back to the previous song. Gets frustrating.

Worst parts is when solo or plugged into carplay you select a song and go through 29 tracks...leave the car or pause the app. Then after coning back into the car it will resume that last song, but when you unlock your phone or go into the pandora app in car play it will start playing the original somg 20 tracks earlier...it jas other quirks that just make no sense.
 
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Dj64Mk7

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2013
1,248
444
Yes, but when their suggestions from their vast library are complete crap, all that extra music doesn’t make much difference.

I, too, find that Pandora is much, much better at suggesting songs that are like the ones I base them off of and that I like. Both Spotify & Apple Music seem to not give a hoot about finding music that matches my tastes.

“You like French Café Accordian? Here’s a rap song we think you’ll enjoy.”

What?

Also, on the subject of Internet radio, what’s up with Apple Music’s radio stations? They never work right for an extended period of time.
 

7thson

macrumors 65816
May 13, 2012
1,342
1,433
Six Rivers, CA
The only issue is Pandora’s extremely limited library compared to Apple Music or Spotify.
I was hoping Apple would buy Pandora just to get that algorithm. I miss Pandora but the not the limited selection of music.Apple's human curation is a marketing play. I don't feel like the people curating care any more or less about my tastes than an algorithm does.
 
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