What was Pandora Media called when it was founded in 2000 as an online music recommendation company?

Pandora Media was called Savage Beast Technologies when it was founded in 2000 as an online music recommendation company.

The company began with the Music Genome Project, an effort to describe songs through many musical characteristics and use those descriptions to generate personalized recommendations. It was founded by Will Glaser, Jon Kraft, and Tim Westergren. The original business direction focused on licensing the recommendation technology rather than immediately offering today’s familiar radio service.

Savage Beast Technologies changed its name to Pandora Media in 2005. Pandora then developed an internet radio service that allowed listeners to create stations based on artists, songs, and genres. Its service became especially associated with algorithmic music discovery and ad-supported listening.

The name Pandora connects the company to the idea of opening something that releases many possibilities. It should not be confused with Pandora, the jewelry company, or Pandora’s Box, the mythological expression. The company later became part of Sirius XM after Sirius XM acquired it in 2019.