New videos: Glitch Mob -

This is the first time we've featured electronic music in this video series, and it's fitting that the group to kick it off is Glitch Mob, the futuristic hip hop DJ collective of Ooah, Kraddy, Boreta and edIT.

Since so much of their set is improvised, we will leave the track names up to you:

"Track 1"

"Track 2"

"Track 3"

This show captures the four gentlemen at the 1,000-capacity Mezzanine club in San Francisco, and yes, as the density of the crowd indicates, the Glitch Mob sold the place out.

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Here are individual artist pages for members of the Glitch Mob collective: Kraddy, edIT and Ooah.

New videos from 20 Minute Loop and Fred Smith -

While some media types might be on holiday break, sitting beachside and sipping coladas through spiraling neon straws, we here at Pandora will sit in the snow and continue to bring you fresh videos and new music. Much like the USPS, neither rain nor sleet and so on. Happy to do it.

First up are four from 20 Minute Loop: "Mercury Vapor," "Dr. Vitus Werdegast," "Automatic Pilot" and "Cora May."

Also new, the dirty-minded diplomat Fred Smith brings his sharp wit and acoustic guitar with him from Australia (pictured at left). Two songs are on his own, "Seven Ways" and "American Guitar," while one song, "Texas," features harmonies by the L.A. songwriter Alissa Moreno.

And if you find yourself on Twitter, please stop by and say hello.

Good tidings,
Kevin

Pandora Holidays -

Mistletoe

For those of you already in the Holiday spirit, and for those who are still trying to get there, a friendly reminder of how easy it is to enjoy Christmas music on Pandora:

To make your own holiday station, just start with an artist you like, and type the word "holiday" after the name.

Duke Ellington Holiday
Frank Sinatra Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald Holiday
Mariah Carey Holiday
Vienna Boys Choir Holiday

Or, you can create a station from a specific holiday song by typing in the name of that song (for example, 'Winter Wonderland'). Pick which version of the song you want, and a station will be created for you that showcases similar holiday music.

A few to try:
White Christmas
Angels We Have Heard On High
We Wish You a Merry Christmas

To make it even easier for you, we've created a bunch of genre-based stations for you to try:

Peaceful Holidays

A Classical Christmas

Swingin' Christmas

There's many more pre-mixed holiday stations here.

Happy Holidays!

Lucia

Pandora on Windows Mobile -

It's been well over a year since I first talked publicly about Pandora for Windows Mobile. After a number of false starts and broken promises on my part, I'm happy to report that we've now released our first Windows Mobile implementations of Pandora.

Today we're rolling out Pandora for the HTC XV6900 on Verizon, the HTC Touch on Sprint, and the Motorola Q9C on both Sprint and Verizon. These are free to download and are supported solely through advertising. The entire Pandora experience you've come to expect on the web is available on your Windows Mobile phone: create stations, listen, give feedback, QuickMix, etc.

In cooperation with AT&T we are also launching Pandora support for three additional Windows Mobile phones: the Samsung Epix, the LG Incite, and HTC Fuze. AT&T has decided to make these versions of Pandora available on a monthly subscription basis.

To get started with Pandora on your HTC Touch, HTC XV6900, Motorola Q9C, LG Incite, HTC Fuze, or Samsung Epix simply visit http://www.pandora.com using Mobile Internet Explorer on your smartphone and follow the installation instructions.

We're continuing the work required to bring Pandora to a broader range of Windows Mobile handsets. Keep your eye on this blog and this page for updates on new handsets.

For those of you that have been keeping an eye on this since I first talked about it so long ago, thanks again for your patience. Enjoy!

Fresh from our Concert Series: Laura Reed and Josh Fix -

The response we've gotten to our new Concert Series has been intense and really positive. Thanks for watching our daily song updates, and for letting us know who you want to see on our stage.

We have two new shows in the on-deck circle for you.... first up, straight out of Atlanta, four songs by the neo-soul big band Laura Reed & Deep Pocket: "Well," "Why Have A Frown," "Don't Go" (my personal favorite), and "Forces At Play."

That's Laura and part of the crew, pictured at left.

And from the West Coast's prince of piano rock, Josh Fix, a quartet of choons, starting with that great anthem of pyromania and passion, "Burn It Down."

(Update: the other three songs from Josh Fix's set: "Don't Call Me In The Morning," "Rock And Roll Slut," and "Rolled In From The South.")

We post new songs every weekday, so keep checking, and even better, sign up for a free subscription.

Enjoy!
Kevin

Chicago Apple Store Change... -

Dear Chicagoans -

I've been looking forward to the Apple store talk this coming Tuesday in the windy city. Unfortunately, for personal reasons I have be in California on Tuesday. I will be ably replaced by Tom Conrad, our CTO. Tom runs engineering at Pandora, so he's ultimately the wizard behind the application. I dare you to stump him with technical questions. He's been with us from the very beginning of Pandora, so he'll also talk about our history and where Pandora is heading.

Sorry I can't make it, but I'm already talking with the store about coming in the new year. In the meantime, I encourage you to drop by to meet with Tom. You'll enjoy his talk. He's much smarter than I am...

Cheers. Tim (Founder)

2,000,000 Pandora iPhone users!!! -

At 10:04am this morning we hit 2,000,000 registered iPhone Pandora users!

We're hearing all sorts of wonderful feedback from listeners who are using it on their commute, jogging with it, plugging it into home audio systems...you name it. And as usual, offering all sorts of great feedback and suggestions. It's thrilling for us to see the broader vision for Pandora take shape. Our hearty thanks for your continued support and input.

It also makes us very happy to know that the 60,000+ artists in our collection are now getting played on car radios all across the country. Times they are a changin' ...

Thanks also to the iPhone and iTunes teams at Apple who have been, and continue to be, so helpful and supportive.

Cheers. Tim (Founder)

Next up in the Pandora Concert Series: Hot Buttered Rum -

Following on the heels of Tift Merritt's great performance at Pandora, we have another show for you:

High-altitude bluegrass,
from the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Mandolin, fiddle, upright bass...
...and acoustic guitar.

Ladies and gentlemen...

We are proud to present...

HOT BUTTERED RUM.

Over the week, we will have four live videos up from Hot Buttered Rum. The first is the feel-good anthem of the winter, "What To Do."

(Update: the other three songs are "Jack Mormon Mom," "Two Buck Chuck" and "Angeline-->Cindy.")

To get a free subscription to the Pandora Video Series, check out the lower right-hand side of this Feedburner page.

Thanks for watching,
Kevin

DigForFire's "Postcards from the Music Genome" -

Last year, a crew of music-loving British documentary filmmakers joined Tim as he hosted town hall meetings and hit open mic nights across the country. The first of these episodes has just premiered on their website DigForFire. It's set in New York City.

They have a whole collection of cool live music videos as well. Check 'em out.

Dig,
Kevin

Pandora Goes To Hollywood: Making Music For Movies -

Think about your favorite movies.

Star Wars.

Edward Scissorhands.

Citizen Kane.

The Incredibles.

What would those movies be without the music that John Williams, Danny Elfman, Bernard Herrmann and Michael Giacchino composed for them?

Here's a video we made about the craft of composing for film.

Tim Westergren's whole concept for the Music Genome Project came out of the years he spent as a film composer, actually. The challenges he faced while getting directors to articulate their musical requests led him to think about a better way to make recommendations...
hence Pandora. But he can talk more about that.

Since we're on the topic, what is your favorite film score? Mine is Ennio Morricone's score for The Mission.

Thanks for watching,
Kevin

PREMIERE! Pandora's Concert Series -

I can't overstate how excited I am that this is out there in public now: Our very first footage of live music performance on Pandora.

This is just the beginning of the Pandora Concert Series, in which we will bring you video of great performers singing and playing, and talking about the creative process behind their songs.

We also couldn't be happier that our first guest artist is Tift Merritt. Esquire magazine voted her "Best Female Voice" this year, and you will soon hear why. She manages to fold in elements of folk and classic soul while making them all her own, with a distinctive tone and a passionate delivery.

With each week's featured artist, we will feature four songs from this North Carolinian. First, "Good Hearted Man," performed live at Pandora. Check back tomorrow and in the days after, and we will have more songs posted.

(Update: here are "Keep You Happy," "I Know What I'm Looking For Now" and "Mille Tendresses" from that same concert.)

Enjoy!
Kevin

Apple Store Meetups - LA, Boston, Chicago -

We're fast approaching 2 million registered iPhone users... Crazy! To celebrate this entry to the world of free mobile radio, Apple has generously allowed us to host some show-and-tells at their stores around the country. I'll be sharing some Pandora history, new developments, and a deep dive into the iPhone, which we love so much...

Hope you'll join me for an informative and hopefully interactive get together at one of these beautiful store, uh.. I mean museum, locations:

Santa Monica, Thursday November 13th, 7pm
1248 Third Street Promenade (310) 576 1011

Boston, Monday November 17th, 12 Noon
815 Boylston Street (617) 385 9400

Chicago, Tuesday December 9th, 7pm
679 North Michigan Ave., (312) 981 4104

Cheers. Tim (Founder)

Singing Harmonies, on Video -

Here's five minutes you'll be glad you spent.

Two great singers, Greg Giles and Kelly Atkins (left), joined us to talk about different ways you can sing harmony:

Contrary motion
Parallel motion
Unison
Counterpoint
Antiphony (call and response)
Drone

Motion graphics artist Daniel Cardozo illustrated the piece, so we get to see those melodic and harmonic lines moving across the screen as they're sung.

Let us know what you think, and also what other types of videos you would like to see on here. We, as always, are mostly ears.

We have also posted the sequel to our video about the Knitting Factory in New York, where we get the full backstage tour. Enjoy!

Kevin

The Musicology Show: Country Songwriting -

When he's not here working at Pandora's headquarters, you might find JJ Schultz hosting a great weekly open mic night at Hotel Utah in San Francisco. You might also find him with pen in hand working on new songs. His three albums of original songs range from folk to country to other strains of Wisconsin-bred Americana. Today, however, we focus on that country music. We get into classic country songwriting, looking at how major-key melodies mix with sad lyrics to establish a setting for those vivid, very specific images.

Thanks for listening,
Kevin

Great Venues: The Knitting Factory, New York -

This week is the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, a great festival that spans multiple boroughs and features a wide range of independent music.

We visited the Knitting Factory during CMJ, and were amazed at how smoothly their ship sailed. With three stages on three floors, a single night's entertainment might feature as many as 25 bands, all loading in and out through a single door.

In honor of this week's CMJ, part of which takes place on the Knitting Factory's multiple stages, here is a look at the ways in which the Knit has brought groundbreaking music to audiences for 20 years. From Annie Clark (pictured at left) to John Zorn, the bounty has been rich.

Kevin