Home Pandora Hits 10 Billion Thumbs Up or Down

Pandora Hits 10 Billion Thumbs Up or Down

Music recommendation service Pandora marked today what it calls perhaps its proudest milestone in 6 years since launching: 10 billion user interactions indicating approval or disapproval of a particular song. Those thumbs up or down are used to determine subsequent recommendations for a particular user’s Pandora channels.

The 10 billionth thumb was pointed up and was for the song “Ridin’ Solo” by Jason DeRulo, an autotuned song I personally consider annoying and repetitive. That’s the beauty of Pandora: I don’t have to listen to anything like that song if I don’t want to.

Pandora faces far more competition today than it has at other times in its history, but as free, easy to use, lean-back music discovery experiences go – it’s still very hard to beat. Unless you’re not in the United States; in that case this whole conversation is likely a sore one.

None the less, the company and its capacity to turn user feedback into more intelligent recommendations have become a metaphor for many people. A Google search for the phrase “like Pandora for” returns almost 50,000 results, including links to things like a “Pandora for movies” (Jinni), a “Pandora for books” (many different sites) and “Pandora for bros” (fratmusic.com).

Above: A photo of Pandora’s community manager Aaron Morgan, from Twitter.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.