This is a cool music site, however it's features, and registration are
inaccessible.
	Q: What is Pandora?

Pandora is a music discovery service designed to help you find and enjoy
music that you'll love. It's powered by the 
Music Genome Project
, the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Just tell us one
of your favorite songs or artists and we'll launch a streaming station to
explore
that part of the music universe. 

Q: How do you decide what to play?

We take your input (artists, songs) and feedback ("I like this", "I don't
like this") and use the 
Music Genome Project
 to create stations that play songs that are musically similar to what
you've told us. That's it; only the music counts. We don't care how popular
the artist
is, who's backing them, and we don't care which genre bin they usually
belong in. Only the music matters. 

Q: How much does it cost?

Pandora is available in two forms. Both versions have exactly the same
features. 

The first form is an advertising-supported version which is entirely free.
Over time we'll be incorporating ads into this version of Pandora.

For those who want to steer clear of advertising, subscriptions are
available in two different flavors:

    ANNUAL: 12 months of unlimited use for $36
    QUARTERLY: 3 months of unlimited use for $12

Q: Why do you need to know my age?

Under the terms of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (
	
), we're required to verify that all Pandora users are at least 13 years of
age.

Q: Why do you need to know my zip code?

At this time we are only licensed to offer Pandora music services to
residents of the United States. Audio streaming regulations differ from
country to
country, and we are working on acquiring the proper licenses so we can
legally offer Pandora outside of the United States. We require your zip code
to
confirm that you are a resident of the United States. 

Q: Why do you need to know my email address?

We only use your email address as an account name to make it easier for you
to remember your login when you return to the site. We'll never send you
unsolicited
email and we'll never share your email address with another company without
your explicit consent. See our 
privacy policy
 for the details. 

Q: How many stations can I maintain?

You can have up to 100 stations at any one time. Once you reach the maximum
number of stations, you have to delete a station before you can add another
one.

Q: What does the "Guide Us" button do?

The "Guide Us" button is your connection to the 
Music Genome Project
. Click "Guide Us" at any time and tell us what you want. We'll take your
input and immediately update your station to reflect your preferences.

Q: When I give song feedback ("I really like this", "I don't like this")
what happens?

The playlist that drives your station is immediately changed to take into
account your preferences. The songs that play from that point on will change
to
reflect what you've told us about your musical tastes. This feedback will
only affect your current station.

Q: How do I tune my Pandora stations? What happens when I give a thumbs
up/down? How do I control the variety of music that plays on my station?

The answers to all of these questions lie in the Pandora "Rules of Thumbs"

* "Thumbs Up" makes that song and songs that sound like that song play more
often
* "Thumbs Down" bans that song from that station, and makes songs that sound
like that song play less often
* Adding a song with "Add more music to a station" expands a station
* Adding an artist with "Add more music to a station" expands a station a
lot
* You can view or modify your station using "Edit this station" 

To "Add more music" to a station click on the small triangle next to the
station name. From there you can add either songs or artists to the station.

Adding a song to a station will expand the range of music played on that
station. How much expansion depends on how different the newly added song is
from
the rest of the songs and artists that define that station. The more songs
you add, the greater the variety can be. However more songs also means you
will
need to listen longer before you hear everything the station has to offer.
Typically adding one song adds over a hundred songs to the station. If you
want
a well controlled station, I recommend you add 3 to 5 songs and then listen
for a while before adding any more.

Adding an artist name to a station, (rather than a song name), will expand
the music much more than adding a song. Pandora will try to cover the entire
range of music of the chosen artist. It's usually broader than selecting
individual songs. Adding an artist can add several hundred songs to a
station.
Some artists have broader ranges than others. Some will surprise you. For
example, Lynryd Skynyrd's classic "Tuesday's Gone" as performed by
Metallica.
If you like surprises, make a station using a few artist names as input.

"Thumbs Up" is available by clicking on the album art of any displayed song.
Giving a song a Thumbs Up will cause Pandora to play that song, and songs
that
sound like it more frequently. It doesn't take many Thumbs Up to move a
station towards a particular sound you like. You can give Thumbs Up to songs
that
are very different from each other. If you do this enough, you can expand
your station in several different directions.

"Thumbs Down" is available by clicking on the song album art. Giving a song
a Thumbs Down will cause Pandora to ban that song from that station. Give
two
Thumbs Down to songs by a particular artist and that artist is banned from
that station. Songs that sound like the Thumbs Down song will play less
often.
Thumbs Down are particularly powerful on stations defined by song names,
rather than artist names. It shouldn't take many to help tune your station.

Occasionally you may find you liked your station better before you changed
it. No worries. You can click on the triangle next to the station name and
select
"Edit this station". From there you can view and change all the inputs you
gave.

Keep in mind, we are adding lots of music to the Pandora library every day.
Your stations will evolve all by themselves.

Q: Can I edit the feedback I've entered for a station?

To review and edit the feedback you've given on a station, just click the
triangle next to the station name and select "Edit this Station". You'll be
able
to see all of the "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" feedback you've given us, as
well as any songs or artists that you added with the "Add more kinds of
music"
feature. If you've changed your mind, you can remove feedback from the
station by clicking the "remove" button next to the song or artist you'd
like to
remove.

Q: Can you help me keep a list of the songs that I discover on Pandora?

Any time you hear a song that you really like, just click on the album art
and select "Bookmark this Song". This will add the song to your Pandora
profile
page. You can use your profile page to later buy tracks and albums or to get
more information about the artist. You can also share your page with your
friends so they know the kind of music you love (and what to get you for
your birthday).

Q: Why isn't my profile page showing? Why isn't backstage showing?

Since the backstage and profile pages "pop up", some browser's pop-up
blockers will keep the favorites page from showing up. You may need to
configure your
browser to 
accept popup windows
 from pandora.com. 

Q: How can I share a station with a friend?

Click the share button and select "Email Current Station to a Friend." Type
a note and an email address and we'll send an email to your friend with a
one-click
link that will let them listen to the station you created and control. Your
friend does not need to be registered with Pandora to listen to your
station.

Q: What are other people listening to? How do I find shared stations?

We track the top 20 most-listened to stations and make them easily available
to you. Click the share button and select "Find a Shared Station." Select
from
one of the 20 most popular stations or search for one of your friends by
email address and add one of the stations they created to your list.

Q: I can't think of a single artist or song that I love. What now?

Really? Try this: what songs or artists did you love in high school or
college? Don't worry if it was a long time ago, we can start there and
introduce
you to lots of great music from just one input. (Don't worry about spelling,
we'll do our best to figure out what you mean no matter what you type.) 

Q: Can I pause the music? How about skipping tracks?

In the top right hand corner of the Pandora window there are small white
pause and track skip buttons. 

Q: Pandora makes great "discovery" stations, but what else does it do?

Many of Pandora's features are available from subtle "drop down" menus. You
can find these on the screen by looking for little down-turned triangles.
When
you click on one of these triangles you'll see context-specific options. Use
these menus to share a station with a friend, delete stations, rename
stations,
and so on. Also, try clicking on the album art to explore more about the
song and artist on Amazon or iTunes and then purchase it if you want. 
Let us know
 what else you'd like Pandora to do in future versions.

Q: Why won't Pandora play the specific song/artist I want? 

Our music licenses do not allow us to play specific songs by request. Your
song selection is used to generate a station that will play similar music.
Your
song will be played eventually, in the mix with lots of other great music.

Q: Why isn't there a BACK or REWIND button?

Our music licenses do not allow us to let you back up the music to replay a
specific song.

Q: What do I get when I subscribe?

The ad-supported, free version of Pandora and the subscription service have
exactly the same features. If you choose to subscribe, we'll remove all
advertising
from your Pandora experience. That's the only difference. 

Over time we may decide to make some new features only available to
subscribers, but right now we're focused on making Pandora the best it can
be for all
of our listeners.

Q: What about advertising?

The free version of Pandora is supported with advertising, which we'll ramp
up over the next few months. If you don't like ads, you can banish them
altogether
by subscribing.

Q: I just heard a great song. Can I buy it?

We've partnered with Amazon.com and Apple so you can buy CD's and digital
tracks of the songs you're hearing on Pandora. Just click on the album art
and
select "buy this CD from Amazon" or "buy this song from iTunes" to be taken
to the appropriate online store.

Q: Will my subscription be automatically renewed at the end of its term?

The account is renewed automatically by default, but it's easy to turn off
if you change your mind.

You can set your renewal status by clicking the "account" button and "edit
your account info". On the far right there is a setting to disable
auto-renew.

Q: Can I listen to my stations from more than one computer?

As a registered Pandora user, you can access your stations from any
computer. You may, however, only listen from one computer at a time.

Q: How many songs do you have in your library?

Our music library contains approximately 400,000 songs from over 20,000
artists. The collection is amazingly diverse and covers every type of music
except
classical and world. It's great music from all sources: the big record
labels, the indies, and musicians recording and self-publishing from their
garage.
We think of it as the very best music from the last 100 years. 

Q: When I try to create a station from my favorite song or artist, Pandora
has not heard of them. Can you fix that?

We're constantly analyzing music: every week, all the time, new releases and
back catalog. If we don't have something you're looking for, 
let us know
 and we'll look into it.

Q: Can I send you my band's music?

Sure! Feel free to send us a copy of your record, but first please read the
info and follow the guidelines below (that'll give everyone the best chance
of encountering more great undiscovered music in the Music Genome Project): 

Music Genome Project Submissions Process:
list of 3 items
1. YOU SEND. 
list of 6 items nesting level 1
* A CD (or a CDR, if it's in really cool home-made, hand-made artistic
regalia) with your music on it. It must have a valid UPC barcode. If you
don't have
a UPC, you can register one 
here
 for about $15.
* A few pages of biographical information and related stuff about your music
if you have it. We're interested in knowing more about you: press quotes,
tour
date information similar artists, and so on.
* Please include your band name and an email address on everything you send
us. We don't want to mix it up or lose it. You get bonus points if the CD
you
send is easy to open, i.e. free of plastic wrap and tape. 
* Also, you'll need to fill out and sign our music submission agreement
form, available 
here
. This assures us that you are authorized to submit the material you're
sending.
* If you are a music label, please feel free to send info on your artists.
* Send to:
Pandora
Attn: Music Genome Project Indie Submission
360 22nd Street, Suite 440
Oakland, CA 94612
list end nesting level 1

2. WE LISTEN. We love music, and we understand that many excellent records
are out there just waiting to be discovered. We listen to EVERYTHING that we
receive. Period.
3. WE DECIDE. Sadly, we cannot add every CD that we receive to the Music
Genome Project. Our Senior Music Analysts (who are all excellent musicians
and
artists, and also generally cool people) are responsible for auditioning
your submissions for inclusion. We will not contact you to tell you whether
or
not your music has been received or enrolled. We know it sounds a bit cold,
but we're just too swamped to do more. Please understand. If you are
concerned
about ensuring that your CD has arrived, we suggest you send your package
through the USPS with return receipt so you know that we got it. 
list end

Q: What about holiday music?

To hear holiday music on Pandora, just start by entering the name of a
favorite holiday song (for example, "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it
Snow"). We'll
then ask you to pick from a list of artists that we know performed that
song. Pick your favorite version and we'll create a station that will play
other
similar holiday music. While we're not able to play that exact song
immediately, it will play on your station eventually so keep listening!

If you'd rather start from an artist, just enter the artist's name followed
by the word holiday (for example, "Nat King Cole Holiday"). We'll then use
that
input to build a holiday station based on the musical qualities of that
performers holiday classics.

We're busy adding more seasonal music everyday, so keep coming back and
expect your holiday stations to improve over the coming weeks.

Q: What about classical music?

The 
Music Genome Project
 doesn't contain any classical music at this time. We're still trying to
figure out how to tackle that animal... In the meantime, there are some
great web
sites out there that cater to the classical audience, for example check out 
KUAT-fm
 a great 128Kbps classical streaming station.

Q: My station just played two artists that I never thought would go
together. How can that happen?

At the 
Music Genome Project
, we treat each song as a totally unique musical performance. We don't have
a pre-conceived notion of what the artist usually sounds like, or how
they're
usually categorized - in fact we're really trying to avoid that. What
matters is the song itself. We carefully listen for all of its elements;
everything
from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration,
arrangement, lyrics, and all things vocal, and use that to build the
playlists.

Since we never pigeonhole artists, and since artists often record in a
variety of styles, you'll see some surprising bedfellows. But you will also
hear
a much broader and more interesting mix - all centered around your favorite
parts of the musical universe.

Q: Why do you play the explicit versions of songs?

This is a tough one. After much thought and internal debate, we decided to
remain true to our overall philosophy: to objectively convey the original
musical
intent of each song. As a result, the musician-analysts in the 
Music Genome Project
 work from the originally released version of every song, regardless of
content that may be objectionable to certain listeners.

Q: Can I increase the variety of music that a station plays or add other
types of music into the mix?

We work hard to mix in variety on the stations you create, but if you're
finding that you'd like to hear different kinds of music mixed in, you have
two
options.

First, to add more kinds of music to an existing station just click "Guide
Us > Add More Kinds of Music to This Station" and tell us the name of
another
artist or song you love. The station will then add music from that part of
the music universe into the mix. 

Another alternative is make more than one station. To do so, click on the
"Create a New Station" button in the top left corner of the screen. Now when
you
want to change the sound, you can just change stations.

Q: What do I have to install to listen to Pandora?

Typically nothing. We do require that Flash 7 or 8 be installed on your
computer, but the odds are very high that it's already there. That's it.
Just visit
www.pandora.com, make a station, and start listening. 

Q. How do I enable the Flash local storage?

In order to comply with our music licenses, we must be able to keep track of
the music we play for you between sessions to ensure that we don't play too
much of one artist, album, or song. 

To enable the Flash local storage:

  1. Right-click or control-click anywhere inside the Pandora player.

  2. On the menu that appears, select "settings..." You will see a small box
labeled "Macromedia Flash Player Settings."

  3. Along the bottom of this dialog there is a series of four small tabs,
the second one in the list is a folder icon. This tab contains settings that
lets you control access to "Local Storage." Select this tab.

  4. Drag the slider to the first setting (10 KB).

  5. Click "close."

  6. Refresh your browser window (you can do this by pressing F5).

Q: I can't seem to get my "Flash Local Storage" settings to stick. It keeps
resetting itself back to 0 kb!

Here are a few things to try:

Double check your Global Flash settings. Visit 
this page.
list of 3 items
* The window you see at the top of this page is not a screenshot, it is the
actual global configuration window for your flash player. Make sure "allow
third
party flash content to store data on your computer" is checked. Drag the
slider there up if it is at 0. (mine is at 100k).
* Under global security settings (the next tab over). Select "Always ask".
* Under the "Website privacy" tab (the monitor with the eye in it), make
sure that pandora.com com is not set to "Always deny" if it is in the list
of "Vistied
websites". If so, set it to "always ask" or "always allow".
list end

If that doesn't work, sometimes reverting to an older version of Flash can
help. This requires a full uninstall of Flash first.
list of 2 items
* Download the flash uninstallation tool 
here. 
* Then download the binary for Flash 7.0 
here
 and install it.
list end

Q: How can I get Pandora to show up in a separate little window?

Click the "Minimize" link found on the Pandora.com home page. You may have
to tell your popup blocker to trust Pandora.com for this to work. Read more
about
that 
here.

Q: What is required to use Pandora?

Pandora works on Windows 2000 and XP with Internet Explorer 6 and Firefox.
It also works on the MacOS X 10.3+ with Safari and Firefox. Flash 7 or 8 is
required
(8 recommended). We recommend a machine with at least a 1Ghz processor and
256M of RAM. You'll also need speakers or headphones. Older desktop
computers
may need a sound card. A broadband Internet connection is required; dialup
is not supported.

Q: What bitrate is the music you play?

We play 128Kbps streams. Pandora requires a broadband Internet connection.

Q: Can I listen to Pandora on my stereo?

Pandora delivers high quality 128Kbps audio streams and they'll sound great
on your stereo. 

The very best way to experience Pandora on your stereo is via the 
Slim Devices Squeezebox
. The Squeezebox is a beautiful device, with an elegant user interface and
exceptional audio quality. Plug it into your home network (wired or
wireless)
and enjoy Pandora from the comfort of your couch. You'll be able to listen
to all of the stations you've been creating at Pandora.com, rate songs, and
bookmark favorites all with a simple remote control. 

Pandora-on-Squeezebox
 is available to Pandora subscribers (
$36 for a year or $12 for three months
) and will work with any Squeezebox 2 as well as the new (and very
beautiful) 
Squeezebox 3. 

Pandora and Slim Devices are offering free 90 day Pandora subscriptions to
new and current Squeezebox 2 and 3 owners. To get started you'll need to
signup
for 
Squeezenetwork
. When you connect your account with your ad-supported-free Pandora.com
account (you'll do this from your account page at the 
Squeezenetwork
 website) we'll automatically upgrade you to a 90-day-free subscription on
Pandora. No credit card required. 

Click here to learn more about 
Pandora + Squeezebox.

Another option is to simply plug your laptop or computer's audio output into
a stereo input. You may need to get a cable to do that (
Radio Shack
). They usually cost less than ten dollars.

Apple Airport users might find Airfoil useful. Airfoil is a great tool that
allows you to stream audio from your browser (or any other application) to
an
airport. Try it out and see if works for you: 
Airfoil for Mac and PC

Another great way to get Pandora to your stereo is to use an FM transmitter.
We've heard good things about the 
RocketFM
 from Griffin Technologies.

Q: How do I find out why you're playing something?

Click the album art and select "why did you play this song" and we'll give
you an explanation in musicological terms as to why the current song is
similar
to the input you've given us up to that point.

Q: How many attributes are there in the Music Genome?

For pop songs we analyze approximately 200 distinct attributes. For Jazz,
Hip Hop, Latin, and Electronica the number is closer to 400 attributes. When
you
ask the player "why is this song playing," you're seeing just a summary from
the Music Genome. The idea is to try to take the fine-grained attributes "up
a level" and to provide some interesting insight into what makes the song
tick -- without getting into all the gory details. Don't worry, there's a
lot
more to what makes the song distinct in the Music Genome than what we show
on the page.

Q: How are artists paid for the music that's played on Pandora?

At Pandora we believe strongly that artists and songwriters deserve to be
compensated whenever their music is performed. We pay licensing fees to 
SoundExchange, 
ASCAP, 
BMI
 and 
SESAC
 for all music that is played on Pandora. These payments ultimately go to
the performing artists, songwriters, and record labels. 

If you're an artist that is played on Pandora, you'll want to make sure that
you 
register with SoundExchange
 so that you'll be paid for the performance of your songs on Pandora and all
other Internet radio services. 

Q: How do I delete a station?

Just click the small arrow next to the station name. Select "delete this
station" from the menu that appears.

Q: Why am I hearing choppy playback with all the audio?

This could happen if your connection is generally slow (for example, if you
access via a modem) or if your LAN or Internet connection is congested or is
at capacity. Pandora requires connection speed of at least 500 Kbps to
stream our high quality audio content. While listening, you may need to
avoid bandwidth
consuming activities like large file downloads and online gaming to ensure
smooth playback. For a rough estimate of the performance of your connection
you can use this website:

Connection Speed Test

The results should look something like this:

2005-10-20 18:19:09 EST: *2562 / 452*
Your download speed : 2562 kbps or 320.3 KB/sec.
Your upload speed : 452 kbps or 56.5 KB/sec.

Geography can also play a role in audio playback quality. Due to licensing
restrictions, Pandora is currently only offered to users in the United
States.
As a result, all of our audio servers are in the US. If you are attempting
to access Pandora from outside the US, the distance that the audio must
travel
(and the number of network "hops" from our servers to your machine) can be a
very real issue. We'll be rolling out local servers when we launch our
international
services.

Audio problems can also occur when you use an older versions of the Flash
player. You can download the latest version here:

Flash Download

Your computer's speed could be an issue. If you are using an older machine,
there may not be enough memory or CPU resources to properly buffer and play
back streaming audio while running a Flash applet. If you are using an older
machine, you may need to keep other resource-intensive applications to a
minimum
when using Pandora.

If you're listening from work, sometimes IT departments decide to limit
their user's access to music streaming services like Pandora. If you're
having problems
with audio breakup when you listen from the office, you may want to check
with your IT department to make sure that they haven't blocked your access
to
streaming services.

Q: Why doesn't the Pandora player show up in Firefox?

This can happen when the "Adblock" Firefox is installed. In the Adblock
preferences, you'll need to switch off the "Obj-tabs" option for the Pandora
Player
to show up. To do this, select "Preferences" in the Adblock sub-menu in
Tools, then hit the "Adblock Options" button to get a drop-down. "Obj-tabs"
is
the first check box.

Q: I am hearing two songs at once and the pause button doesn't seem to work.
Whats going on?

This happens in some configurations with older versions of the Flash player.
You can download the latest version of Flash from Macromedia here:

Flash Player Install

Q: Is there a URL for my radio stations that I can use with my media
streaming device (Apple Airport, Roku Soundbridge, Slimdevices Squeezebox,
Noxon Audio)?

The Slimdevices Squeezebox has native support for Pandora. Check out this
link for details: 
Pandora + Squeezebox.

Airport users might find Airfoil useful. Airfoil is a great tool that allows
you to stream audio from your browser (or any other application) to an
airport.
Try it out and see if works for you: 
Airfoil

Currently we do not support devices that rely on a stream URL, but we are
always looking for ways to improve Pandora so stay tuned!

Q: Why don't you offer Pandora to countries outside of the United States? 

Sadly, we can only legally offer Pandora services to residents of the United
States at this time. Audio streaming regulations differ from country to
country,
and we are working on acquiring the proper licenses. Keep checking back!

Q: Help! I forgot my password

No problem! You can send yourself a password reminder from the login screen.
Just click the "I forgot my password link". To access the login screen,
click
the "Account" button then the "Log in".

Q: I tried to send myself a password reminder, but Pandora reports that my
email address was not found!

You may have made a typo in your email address when you initially signed up.
We can help you locate the account if you provide us with the birth year and
zip code you used during registration. Please email that information with
your request to 
[log in to unmask]

Q: How do I ban an artist from my station?

If you "thumbs down" two different songs from a particular artist, it will
ban them from the station. However, if at any time you gave this artist a
"thumbs
up", they will not be banned.

Q: Can I skip as many songs as I'd like if I subscribe?

No. Our licenses do not allow unlimited skips per hour. The idea here is
that you should not be able to skip ahead to find exactly the song you might
be
looking for. An unlimited number of skips could effectively provide "track
on demand" which is not allowed in a streaming radio product.

Q: Any plans for releasing a Pandora standalone player or widget?

For our initial releases we've been focusing on making the Pandora
zero-download, cross-platform, web-based solution the best it can possibly
be. Having
said that, we understand the appeal of a desktop widget or standalone
player. Stay tuned!

Q: I can't find the answer I'm looking for here. What next?

Please 
contact
 our customer support team. We'd love to hear from you. 

Q: OK, I'm done for now. How do I turn it off?

That's simple, just navigate away to another web page, close your browser.

If you want to make sure Pandora doesn't log you back in automatically next
time, click account->logout in the lower left corner of the Pandora tuner.

Q: What is "syncopation"?

Syncopation is a rhythmic quality to music in which the emphasis is placed
"off" the beat. 

Most rock and roll music is syncopated in nature. Rather than emphasising
the more traditional 1 and 3 of the 1-2-3-4 count, the snare drum places
emphasis
on the 2 and 4 counts. Think of it this way:
one-TWO-three-FOUR-one-TWO-three-FOUR.

Syncopation can also fall between the counts. Reggae music is an example of
this type of a syncopated rhythm (one-AND-two-AND-three-AND-four). Latin
music
often features syncopated rhythms as well.

Q: When I try to load the Pandora web site, I get redirected to a "Quick!"
search page that reads: "Sorry, we could not find
Javascript:onTunerEvent('hasLoggedIn');onTunerEvent..."

This problem is caused by new.net domain names software, which causes some
incompatibility issues with Pandora. 

Here's a page that describes new.net's behaviors:
http://www.cexx.org/newnet.htm

And here's info about how to uninstall new.net:
http://www.new.net/help_faq.tp#p5

Q: Can I buy stock in Pandora?

Unfortunately, there are currently no investment options available. Thanks
for your interest, though!

Q: What is "vamping"?

'Vamping' is a term that refers to extended improvisation over a repeated
chord change. One of the quintessetial examples of vamping is the outro to
Freebird
by Lynyrd Skynyrd, featuring a 5-minute epic guitar solo over some repeated
chords. 

Q: Can I purchase a Pandora subscription as a gift for a friend?

Currently, there is no formal way to create a gift subscription, but its
definitely on our list of things to do!

Q: I do not have a zip code because I do not live in the US. How do I
register?

Unfortunately, our licenses only permit us to offer our services to US
listeners at this time. We are working hard to get these international
issues sorted
out. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Q: When will Pandora be available in my country?

Unfortunately, it is too early for us to know specifically when
international support will be added. Please keep checking our 
blog
 for updates. It will surely be big news when it happens!

Q: How can I link to Pandora from my own web page?

There are three easy ways that you can link to Pandora from your homepage or
blog.

The simplest mechanism lets you place a link on any page that when clicked
creates an artist station on Pandora. Use this HTML:
block quote

<a target=pandora
href="http://www.pandora.com/?searchFilter=artist&search=AAAA">AAAA
Radio</a> 

replace "AAAA" (both places) with the name of a favorite artist.

To make a link that creates a song station on Pandora use this HTML:

<a target=pandora
href="http://www.pandora.com/?searchFilter=song&search=YYYY">YYYY Radio</a>

replace "YYYY" (both places) with the name of a favorite song.
block quote end

Let's say on the other hand that you'd like to automatically share all the
stations you're creating with anyone that visits your blog or personal
homepage.
We've come up with a technique that makes it really easy to add these items
to your page:

We've setup simple JavaScript includes that you can place into your blog or
homepage template with one simple step. There are two different feeds. The
first
generates a nice looking list of all your stations. Your site visitors will
be able to click to liste and it will always stay up to date with your most
recently created stations. The second feed lists the songs you're
discovering on Pandora; choose from a range of styles including a compact
version as
well as a beautiful version that shows off the song album art. Your site
visitors can click through to learn more about the song, listen to a sample,
buy
the track from iTunes, buy the album from Amazon, or create a new Pandora
station from the song.

Creating the embedding code is really easy. Just visit this page: 
http://www.pandora.com/feeds#blog
, pick a style, enter your Pandora username (your email address) and click
the "Generate HTML" button. Copy the code that's generated to the sidebar
portion
of your blog and you're done.

For all the CSS hackers out there, you're welcome to customize the display
style with CSS. Each element has been given a unique id to make it easy for
you
to assign custom styles.

Note: Pandora is a free ad-based service and advertising is how we pay our
bills (which ultimately is what allows us to operate). Visitors you send to
Pandora
via a blog sidebar will see advertising regardless of whether or not you are
a subscriber. Sadly, your subscription doesn't cover enough of our costs to
allow us to serve streams and pay licensing for everyone you send to
Pandora.

Finally, if you're just looking for a simple way to add a banner-style link
to Pandora, check out 
this page
 which has links to lots of Pandora links in various sizes and styles. 


Q: How do I use Pandora's RSS Feeds?

Pandora is now providing RSS feeds. For example, your bookmarked artists and
songs can now also be delivered via a feed. To get at your favorites feed,
just click through to the "Your Profile" page and use your RSS news reader
to subscribe via the orange XML icon at the bottom of the page.

For a more comprehensive view of all the feeds Pandora supports you can
visit 
http://www.pandora.com/feeds
 where you'll find some simple tools for generating Pandora feed URL's.
Pandora provides 5 distinct feed categories:

- A listener-specific feed of favorite songs: keep track of the songs your
friends are discovering
- A listener-specific feed of stations: keep a running list of your friends
Pandora stations
- A listener-specific feed of artists: keep a running list of your friends
Pandora stations
- A Pandora-wide feed of the top-rated songs playing on Pandora
- A Pandora-wide feed of the top-rated artists playing on Pandora
- A Pandora-wide feed of the most-shared stations playing on Pandora

For all the feeds, you can control the number of items you want to receive,
as well as the time period you're interested in. For example, maybe you want
to get back the top-10 best-rated artists playing on Pandora over the course
of the last week. Visit the feed generator page for the all the details. 

Once you've created a feed URL it's a simple matter of subscribing in your
favorite aggregator (for example, 
My.Yahoo!, 
live.com, 
Bloglines, 
NetNewsWire
, etc.). Your friends can subscribe to your feed of favorites and then
they'll be notified each time you discover a great new song.

Q: The Favorites Page, FAQ, and Customer Support links stop Pandora and
opens in the same browser window!

If this happens, it's usually an indication that you have configured your
browser to open new windows in the current browser window or tab.

For Firefox users, the popular Tabbrowser extension is a common cause of
this issue. To adjust it to work with Pandora, click tools->options->tabbed
browsing.
Set the "Load web browser links into a..." option to "New Window" or "New
Tab".

Q: Pandora is asking me to register again, but when I enter my info, it says
my account already exists!

Make sure that you "log in" with your existing account and that you're not
trying to register a new account under the same name. If you have already
created
an account, you do not need to make another one.

To log in, click the "account" button and select "log in" from the menu.
Enter your username (usually your email address) and password you used to
sign
up.

Q: The Pandora tuner does not appear on the page

This can be happen when you have configured your browser to block javascript
or secure content.

In Internet Exporer for Windows XP, select "tools"->"internet options":

- Under "security" select "default level"
- Under "privacy" select "Medium"
- Under "connections" click the "LAN Settings" button. Make sure
"Automatically detect settings" is selected and that "Use a proxy server for
your LAN"
is not selected.
- Under "advanced" click "restore defaults"

In Safari for Mac OSX, select Safari->Preferences->Security Tab. Under "Web
Content" check every option except for "Block pop ups"

If you use Firefox, make sure to disable extensions like Adblock,
Flashblock, or NoScript.

If you have a personal internet firewall program (such as Zone Alarm or
Norton Internet Security), it could be blocking the Flash portion of the
Pandora
site. Try temporarily disabling it or allowing access to pandora.com.

Another possibility is that your system time/date is incorrect, which can
cause issues with Pandora's security certificates. Make sure to set your
system
clock to the current date and time.

Q: Why did you choose the name "Pandora"?

The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology,
Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from
Apollo.
She was also, as we all know, very curious. Unlike those Gods of old,
however, we celebrate that virtue and have made it our mission to reward the
musically
curious among us with a never-ending experience of music discovery.

Q: The tuner loads, but I can't hear any audio

First make sure that the volume is turned up on your speakers, system
volume, and the pandora tuner. Verify that any speakers/headphones are
securely plugged
into the audio jack. Try other audio applications like winamp and iTunes and
verify you can hear sound on them.

Sometimes simultaneously running other Flash-based applications that play
audio can cause Pandora's playback to stop. Be sure to close any other
browser
windows with Flash running and try again.

If you're on a PC, installing the 
K-Lite codec pack
 and running the "Codec Tweak Tool" has also been reported to be helpful.

If you're on a Mac, launching Garage Band once can magically fix Flash audio
problems. If you don't have Garage Band, you might also want to try this:

1. Open Audio MIDI Setup (/Applications/Utilities/), then check the Audio
Output setting.
2. Change the Audio Output setting to 44100.0 Hz.
3. Quit Audio MIDI Setup.

Q: How many skips do I get per hour?

You get 6 skips per hour per station. Paid subscribers and registered free
users get the same amount of skips.

Q: Are there any keyboard shortcuts?

Sure! Here is the full list of Pandora keyboard shortcuts:

spacebar: Toggle Play / Pause
right-arrow: Skip to the Next Song

plus: I Like this Song
minus: I Don't Like this Song

up-arrow: Raise Volume
down-arrow: Lower Volume
shift + up-arrow: Full Volume
shift + down-arrow: Mute

Be sure to have the Pandora tuner in focus for them to work. Just click once
on the tuner.

Q: What is "major/minor key tonality"?

Major key tonality means that the song's harmony is based on a major scale.
The song's harmony will resolve and come to rest on a major chord, which is
usually perceived as a brighter, happier sound than a minor chord, which
generally is perceived to have a more somber, melancholy sound. 

Technically speaking, the difference between an major chord and a minor
chord is that the 3rd degree of a major chord is a half step higher than the
3rd
degree of a minor chord. A song with major key tonality may contain some
minor chords in the progression, but it will always come to rest and feel
'at
home' on a major chord. An example of a song with major key tonality is
'Good Day Sunshine' by the Beatles. An example of minor key tonality is
'House
Of The Rising Sun' by the Animals. 

Q: Why does Pandora stop playing when I minimize to the Dock (OS X)?

Unfortunately, that is a known issue with Safari. Flash applications like
Pandora are halted by Safari when the browser is not in use. All you can do
for
now is avoid minimizing to the dock when listening with that browser.

However, If you're willing to use alternate OS X browsers for Pandora, like
Firefox or Camino, they work fine with Pandora, even while its in the dock.

Q: What is "chromatic harmony"?

Most songs utilize harmonies that are based on a specific key center with
chords derived from a seven note scale. This seven note scale is called a
"diatonic
scale", and the chords derived from these notes are known as "diatonic
harmony". Chromatic harmony refers to harmonies that are not limited to the
seven
notes of the diatonic scale. Songs using chromatic harmony may have chords
that are built on any note of the twelve tone chromatic scale.

Chromatic harmonies can occur in many styles of music and are commonly heard
in avant garde jazz, modern classical music, and even rap such as The Wu
Tang
Clan.

Q: What is "acoustic instrumentation"?

Acoustic instruments are musical instruments that can be played without
additional amplification or use of electricity. Examples include the grand
piano,
the saxaphone, the acoustic guitar, the violin, and the upright bass. These
rely on the vibration and resonance of different components of the
instrument
to produce audible sound.

Most intruments in their original form were acoustic in nature, however
modern pop and rock music styles often utilize their electrical equivalents.

Q: What is "electric instrumentation"?

Electric instruments are musical instruments that utilize electricity to
generate audible sound. The electric guitar is probably the most widely
known electric
instrument. It is tuned and played like the acoustic guitar, but it uses
magnetic "pickups" to sense the vibrations of the guitar strings. These
vibrations
are converted to an electrical signal, which is then amplified using a
speaker. Most electric instruments aren't clearly audible without the use of
amplification.

Many other acoustic instruments have electric equivalents: the piano is
similar to the keyboard/synthesizer. The upright bass has commonly been
replaced
with the electric bass guitar in pop and rock music.

Electric instruments have been around for longer than you might think: one
of the first electric instruments was the 
Denis d'or
, which was invented in the 18th century!

Q: What are "experimental sounds"?

Occasionally songs employ sounds which are not ordinarily considered
musical. A classic example is Pink Floyd's seminal album Dark Side Of The
Moon. Clocks,
cash registers and helicopters abound! Experimental sounds can also include
noises generated from standard instruments. For example, a "prepared piano"
is one that has foreign objects placed in the strings to create strange,
unconventional sound effects. 

Q: What is "orchestral arranging"?

From a Gloria Gaynor string section to a Smashing Pumpkins hit with timpani
and chimes, some songs feature something more ambitious than the usual
"combo"-style
instrumentation. Orchestral arrangements often include large string and horn
sections, along with orchestral percussion like timpani, vibraphone etc...
A full Wagnerian orchestra with it's own zip code is not required for a song
to merit this tag, but it helps. 

Q: What is a "Basic rock song structure"?

The great bulk of pop songs, across a huge range of styles and eras, are
structured according to common convention, from which we get "verse"
"chorus" and
"bridge" as terms for the sections of songs. For example, "Wrapped Around
Your Finger" by The Police is structured as follows: intro, verse, chorus,
verse,
chorus, verse (variation), chorus, outro. Some rock/pop artists make an
effort to buck these conventions by employing more elaborate structures.
"Bohemian
Rhapsody" by Queen is a good example of a rock song that does not rely on
basic rock song structures. 

Q: What is "meandering melodic phrasing"?

Meandering melodies generally cover a wide range of high and low notes
without much repetition, lending a feeling of surprise or freshness to the
melodic
line. Examples of songs with meandering melodies are "Yesterday" by The
Beatles, "Just The Two Of Us" by Bill Withers, or "Saint Simon" by The
Shins. 

Q: Why can't I create a new station? It just redirects me to an existing
one.

It is likely that you are trying to create a station from an artist that you
have already used for another station. If so, Pandora will just redirect you
to the existing station. Pandora only creates one unique station per artist
you enter.

If you are looking to build a similar station to one you already have, you
may want to try starting it off with a specific songs from that group.
Alternately
you could try using another similar band.

Q: Why can't I rate a song? The thumbs up/down button are grayed out or
missing.

Are you listening to a shared station? Shared stations have a curvy arrow
displayed to the left of the station title. 

Shared stations can only be modified by the original owner. This includes
song ratings, adding more music to the station, and renaming. Stations that
you
create yourself using "create a new station" should be fully editable.

Q: What are "east coast rap roots"?

East coast rap roots refers to music that references east coast style rap.
East coast rap may be exemplified by the heavy use of samples (often R&B),
ocassional
use of swung 16th notes, light or sparse bass lines, and a general aesthetic
of New England and the Middle Atlantic USA. The lyrical delivery of east
coast
rap is exemplified by a varied vocal delivery, highly developed rhyme
structure, an east coast urban accent, etc.

Q: What are "west coast rap roots"?

West coast rap roots refers to music that references west coast rap. West
coast rap may be exemplified by use of funk samples, heavy funk influence,
prominent
bass lines, beats made for dancing, and heavy backbeats. The lyrical
delivery of west coast rap is exemplified by traditional rhyme structures,
simpler
rhythms, prominent use of hype men and backing vocalists, and a west coast
(L.A./Bay Area/Latino) accent.

Q: What are "old school roots"?

'Old school roots' refers to rap music in its earliest form. In its infancy
rap was a very diverse form of music. With influences ranging from electro
to
disco to doo-wop, the sound of old school rap is not easily pigeonholed.
However, for our purposes old school rap may be exemplified by simple beats,
rudimentary
use of sampled music, poorer fidelity, verses with only an MC and a drum
beat, and a general aesthetic of the late 1970s and 80s. Old school lyrical
delivery
may be exemplified by simple rhyme patterns and rhythms, vocal trading of 4
or 8 bars, and simple vocal punctuations (typically on beats 2 and 4)

Q: What are "southern rap roots"?

Southern rap roots refers to music that references southern style rap music.
Southern rap may be exemplified by 16th and 32nd notes on hi-hat and snare
drum, implied double-time, dominant bass lines which are often synthetic,
beats made for dancing, and repetitive rhythm tracks. The lyrical delivery
of
southern rap may be exemplified by repetitive vocal chants, extremely fast
or slow speed, the regular use of 3 or more MCs, aggressive rhythmic
delivery,
and a southern (often mislabeled as country) accent.

Q: What is "gangsta rap attitude"?

Gangsta rap is a type of rap music that focuses on, and typically promotes,
the lifestyles of contemporary inner city gangsters. While the term gangsta
rap is often used to refer to West Coast rap created in the 90s by artists
like Dr. Dre and 2Pac, at Pandora we use it to define any type of rap that
focuses
on crime or other 'negative' social topics.

Q: What is "downtempo influence"?

Downtempo is an all-inclusive term for laid-back electronic music that falls
between electronic dance music (house, trance, techno) and ambient music
(Brian
Eno, Steve Roach, etc.). Like electronic dance music, downtempo has a
definite beat and structure. However, it is slower, and is more likely to
use dub-like
hypnotic effects a la ambient music.

Q: What are "trance roots"?

'Trance roots' refers to music that references the musical aspects of
trance.

Trance is a form of electronic dance music that first surfaced in the 1990s.
It is characterized by several factors including repetitive synth lines,
quick
tempos (125-160bpm), dramatic build-ups/breakdowns, and a musical form that
morphs between sections. 

Q: What are "trip-hop roots"?

Trip-hop in its broadest scope is any type of electronic music that uses
beats from rap music. Trip-hop was developed in England in the 1990s, and
gained
popularity through artists like Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky. 

Musicologically, trip-hop is characterized by the heavy use of samples and
breakbeats, mellow tempo (85-110 bpm), minor key tonality, swung 16th notes,
and heavy emphasis on sung vocals. 'Trip-hop roots' refers to music that
utilizes the musical aspects of trip-hop.

Q: What is a "G-funk synth line"?

This is a high pitched synthesizer sound that is typically constructed using
a sine wave sythnthesizer signal with plenty of portamento, which makes the
notes 'slide' between one another. 

The use of this sound was popularized by g-funk music (the "g" being short
for gangsta), a type of West Coast rap pioneered most notably by Dr. Dre.
Most
g-funk songs are based around slowed down funk samples (especially from the
band Parliament), deep bass lines, and the g-funk synth.

Q: What is "chopped & screwed production"?

Chopped & screwed (also known as screwed & chopped) is a style of southern
rap music pioneered by the late DJ Screw of Houston, TX, USA. Using a
sensibility
not far removed from dub remixers like King Tubby and Lee Perry, DJ Screw
would take his favorite records/beats and remix them by slowing them down,
applying
DJ techniques such as scratching, stop time, stuttering, and adding external
effects to create a "chopped & screwed" version of the original. Today, many
southern rap albums are produced as double discs complete with an original
version and a chopped & screwed version. Modern remixers carrying on Screw's
legacy include Swishahouse Records, Michale "5000" Watts, OG Ron C, etc.

Q: What is "vinyl ambience"?

When a record is played using a turntable there are several artifacts added
to the sound. These artifacts are caused by dust or other imperfections in
the
groove of a record and they are often described as 'crackles', 'hisses', and
'pops'. They create a background ambience that affects the songs' overall
feel and perceived sound.

Q: What are "headnodic beats"?

What do you call beats that are too quick to slow-dance to, too slow to
really get down, but still make you want to move your body? At Pandora we
call these
'headnodic beats'. 'Headnodic beats' will cause most people to sway their
bodies or nod their heads in time, but are not ferocious enough to compel
them/you
to jump up and dance. Headnodic beats are often found in rap and downtempo
music.

Q: What is "use of sing-jaying"?

Sing-jaying is a technique popularized by reggae (typically Jamaican)
vocalists who use a repetitive vocal melody, or riff, as a basis for their
rap. What
results is a rap that is sung, but still has room for exciting rhythmic
improvisations. Sing-Jaying is the dominant style of vocal delivery in
dancehall
music and can be observed by listening to such artists as Barrington Levy,
Eek-A-Mouse, and Sean Paul.

Q: What is a "wet/dry recording sound"?

When a sound is produced, what a listener or microphone hears is not just
the source of the sound. Rather, it is an aggregate of the source and its
reflections
off of surfaces around it (i.e., sound reflections or echoes). A space is
considered to be 'wet' or reverberant when there are a high amount of sound
reflections.
When there are a low amount of reflections, or none, a space is considered
to be 'dry' or non-reverberant. 

One example of a 'wet' sounding space is a tiled bathroom, or large
cathedral. An example of a 'dry' sounding space is a closet filled with
clothes.

Q: What are "house roots"?

House is a type of electronic dance music that began in Chicago in the
1980s. The name is derived from the club where it was first heard - The
Warehouse
Nightclub - and in it's earliest stages may be understood as a melding of
disco with electronic music. 

House music is characterized by a prominent four-on-the floor drum beat,
repetitive basslines, traditional pop harmonic/melodic structure, heavy use
of
looping, and sounds that are electronic, synthetic or sampled in nature. 

Q: What are "IDM influences"?

IDM is an acronym for 'intelligent dance music'. While the word "dance" is
in the title, that does not necessarily mean this type of music is
danceable.


IDM came about in the early 1990s as an umbrella term for experimental music
being created by electronic music producers. IDM is so diverse that it is
not
easily defined. From a very broad perspective, IDM typically features
intricate sample/music editing, heavy use of synthetic effects, complicated
- often
confusing - rhythms, and a general aesthetic of eclecticism and stretching
of traditional musical boundaries.

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Claude Everett 
everyone has a disability, it's just that some, are more aware of it than
others.
American by chance, Californian by choice
"We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded that we are vulnerable.
We must
be treated as equals, -- and communication is the way we can bring this
about."
Louis Braille  (1841),        (1809 - 1852)



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