When Pandora first hit the market, the rants and raves were well deserved. It was a new approach to radio that had not really been seen, or at least popularized as well, before. Being able to personalize a radio station to your preference in music genre, style, and/or artist is a phenomenon from regular radio listening while driving around or doing homework.
Then, with the invention of the Pandora app, it was taken one level further—now listeners could make personalized radio mobile with them. I personally loved Pandora, and still use it occasionally. However, thanks to Stumbleupon.com, I discovered 8tracks.com.
This Internet radio website has made even Pandora look mainstream. 8tracks is comprised solely of everyday people around the world’s iTunes playlists. It is personalization of Internet radio music to the extreme.
8tracks combines music with social networking—you can browse music playlists by tags such as “indie pop,” “happy,” “classical,” etc. You can select more than one tag, personalizing the music you want to here to the maximum.
Although you do not need your own profile, by creating one it allows you to “like” playlists, which will then be stored in your “liked” tab. You can also star specific songs from playlists that will be recorded in your “favorites.” This allows you to go back through songs you absolutely fell in love with and click on a direct link to buy them on iTunes.
I have told several of my friends about 8tracks, and not a single one has told me that they do not adore the website. Listening to music has never been so personalized, making it not as mainstreamed as Pandora has become.
With 8tracks.com, one can easily discover new music in seconds because you are listening to playlists coming directly from the iTunes libraries of millions of others. I also personally love to share music with others, knowing that music is one of the most cherished things in my life. With an 8tracks account, you can easily upload your own music, and share your personal playlists with the world.
Photo Credit: http://8tracks.com/solrae1202/