Pandora, the subscription music streaming service, launched in the United States in 2005.
The service grew from the Music Genome Project, an effort to describe songs through hundreds of musical characteristics. Pandora used those attributes to create personalized internet radio stations based on a listener’s chosen artist, song, or genre.
Pandora’s original model differed from on-demand music services. Users generally listened to algorithmically selected stations and could influence them with controls such as thumbs up and thumbs down. The service later added paid tiers and more on-demand features.
The company was founded as Savage Beast Technologies in 2000 and later became Pandora Media. Its name draws on the mythological Pandora, whose story also concerns opening something that releases many consequences. Pandora remains especially associated with internet radio in the United States.