Those who enjoy free Internet radio can thank Tim Westergren today for bringing it to them.

Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora Radio will be visiting Syracuse University today to discuss the upcoming trends in Internet radio, as well as Pandora’s role in the ‘progressive movement of the music industry,’ according to Pandora’s Web site.

Founded in 2000, Pandora Radio is a Web site where individuals can listen to free Internet radio. The site allows for a person to have a music station created based on their interests. Pandora Radio tailors a station to each person’s likings by streaming requested music through the Internet while pairing it with similar artists.

‘Pandora Radio is saying what the listener wants is real customization,’ said David Lankes, associate professor in the School of Information Studies. ‘Pandora Radio allows you to listen to music specifically geared to what you want.’

The event will be held in Room 250 of Newhouse III at 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Pandora utilizes the Music Genome Project which, according to the Pandora Radio Web site, is ‘the most sophisticated taxonomy of musical information ever collected, which intelligently categorizes songs using up to 400 distinct musical characteristics.’

Pandora Radio relies on a group of musical analysts to categorize the large quantity of music into classifications that will be accessible to listeners based on their preference. This allows for similar artists to pop up on the radio station that Pandora Radio ‘thinks’ the listener will be interested in.

‘I hope to introduce Pandora to students at SU, while discussing the legal front of Internet radio, as well as the entrepreneurship involved in starting a business,’ said Westergren in a telephone interview.

The legal front Westergren refers to is the debate surrounding Pandora Radio and other similar Internet radio stations and the controversy of how royalties and money will be distributed to artists.

The large quantity of people that could potentially be using these Web sites would give companies trouble regulating the amount of money that is due, said Lankes. This controversy stems from Digital Rights Management, which protects content and copyright and also limits the amount of digital media transferred and used by the public.

‘I am surprised, in a good way, that Pandora Radio is still around because of the issue of how much royalties need to go back to artists,’ Lankes said. ‘I think that right now Internet radio is not anywhere near it’s full potential.’

There are many concerns about the of free Internet radio – its effects on employment, as well as if it has the potential to continue to meet the wants of the listener.

Kevin Lemaire, an undecided freshman said he because people tend to have their music on shuffle, an array of music coming up online will be very appealing because only music that would fall into each person’s own personal tastes will come up.

‘Unfortunately, at some point in the future, people will lose jobs, like radio DJs, because everyone will be on Internet radios or on satellite radios, and regular stations will not have good ratings and eventually become nonexistent,’ he said.

Pandora’s Web site announced that it has recently added a Facebook approach that allows listeners to add the Pandora Radio application on their Facebook profiles. This would allow users to see what their friends are listening to and share their music while discovering new artists.

Pandora is also available on select phones from Sprint and AT&T.

Nectarie Sanchez, a sophomore French and music history double major, said that as a Spanish-speaking citizen she worries about the Web site’s ability to fulfill all citizens’ interests.

‘I hope that these Web sites start to incorporate other languages and cultures in the music that they offer,’ she said.

Westergran will also be speaking on the Future of Radio Panel at the third annual Communications Law & Policy Symposium, which will feature a number of other panelists involved in the audio entertainment industry Saturday at the Genesee Grand Hotel, which is also free to students and faculty.

rseldrid@syr.edu

Published on February 21, 2008 at 12:00 pm