There's more than simple math behind the success of Pandora.

The Pandora music streaming service has been the most popular online music service since it was created by a musician in 2000. Tim Westergren created what was then known as the "Music Genome Project" as a side project to link music to certain styles much like certain DNA strands correllate to human traits. (Thus the name).

The original style of Pandora Radio
Courtesy: Joe Goldberg, (CC)

Pandora claims to use an algorithm to produce tags associated with your favorite music. You enter a band, artist or song, then Pandora churns out a series of "random" songs that fit that certain type. The algorithm is a facade as it turns out there is a team of musicians working together to produce the tags that are associated with each individual song.

Tim Westergren
Courtesy: David Shankbone (CC)

When you enter a search item, the tags associated with it build a playlist made up of the same types of music. The application also throws in random music to see if the station can guide itself a little closer to your tastes. If you click "like" on a random song, it will then add that type of music to your permutation and those types of songs will appear.

Westergren claims that it is the human element to the technology that allows it to thrive. Pandora went public in June 2011 and has thrived in the stock market ever since. Many automakers have now actually added Pandora service to their automobile radios.

-By: Levi Warner-

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