After my blog about how youtube.com has the potential to replace illegal-file sharing (at least in certain respects) a commenter mentioned Pandora.com and how this is also helpful in helping people discover new music. I figured I would post a blog about this website, because it is free, legal, and exposes many new artists to listeners. I also believe with this technology if you are a user of illegal file-sharing, this may be a good replacement for you.
Pandora is an online radio service that was created by the Music Genome Project. The website has access to song catalogs for hundreds of artists. You can type in an artist or song you like and the website will customize a radio station for you. If you like a song you can say “I like this” and the station will play it again. You also have the option to say “I don’t like this” and the station will no longer play the song. The possibilities are endless and you can mix and match stations as well so you can make your own personalized, eclectic radio station that fits perfectly to your tastes. And better yet Pandora has the option of purchasing the song you are listening to, so it serves its purpose and helps artists at the same time.
One way Pandora.com is also a good replacement for users is it can be accessed on certain types of phones, and hooked up to a car radio. This is where Youtube fails because it is difficult and possibly dangerous (Changing the song while driving? Probably a bad idea) but with Pandora its just like your own personal radio station that you can take along with you, without the irritating advertisements and monotony of traditional radio. Not to mention Pandora has much more variety and a wider array of artists.
Will illegal file sharing ever be totally replaced? Probably not. But in my opinion there are some positive aspects that P2P sharing possesses, and maybe those of us that see those positive traits can find new alternatives. With the toughening of legislation and failure of many of these P2P sites who knows how much longer this method of getting music and movies will be available, so regardless of your opinion alternatives need to be found. Pandora is one of these great alternatives. I would recommend it to any music lover, or P2P file sharing lover who does so for the love of music and artists. And I will post the link for all of you so give it a try!
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