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The Lefsetz Letter

Pandora

by Bob Lefsetz

If I get one more e-mail about Pandora, I'm gonna SCREAM!

Pandora is a scam. Plain and simple. Another dot com production, just half a decade later.

How many times have we seen this movie? With Firefly? With other suggestion software? It just doesn't WORK! If machines could tell us what feels good dildos would be as good as dicks. And last time I checked, they weren't (and they still don't have a male version).

Why everybody's a fucking lemming and is citing this as the future is unfathomable to me.

Let's see how hard it is to start Pandora. Just find a genre of music, pick all the key artists, pick a few good tracks, and VOILA, you've got a station picked out JUST FOR YOU! Make me puke.

Don't you see this is about MINDSPACE? And that Pandora is laughing, hopefully, all the way to the bank?

It's not about turning you on to new music, it's about selling ADVERTISING! Oh, you can avoid ads by paying three bucks a month. But why should you do THAT, when for a bit over four times that you can get XM or Sirius? Programmed by real people, with a hundred odd streams? Why don't you just give your money to these wankers with probably two employees. (Well, maybe closer to twenty, but don't you get the point? There's a tiny investment in manpower and a whole lot of hype making you believe something is here, when it ISN'T!)

Think this through. Sure, you might find a few good tracks. But how much time are you going to invest in finding them? I put "Jackson Browne" in as my station, and every time I've logged on in twenty minutes I've heard more mediocre crap I have no interest in listening to, never mind buying, than I hear in a whole DAY on Mike Marrone's Loft on XM.

Let's see... According to Pandora, if you like Jackson Browne, you like the Babys' "Midnight Rendezvous". God, they didn't even peak in the same ERA! Maybe if you're a wimpy girl you might see the two as core, but if you've got the Babys, why not REO? Or Journey? They're probably coming. And those acts are a TURN-OFF to the Jackson Browne fan.

Jackson Browne is a singer-songwriter. I'd expect the Pandora station to play Karla Bonoff, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, maybe even the EAGLES! But I get the GIN BLOSSOMS?? And now, Paul Collins' Beat. Pandora gets props for obscurity, but "Walking Out On Love" has got NOTHING to do with Jackson Browne.

Like I said, it's a scam. By making you THINK the station is programmed for YOU, they get you to listen for too long a period of time, listening to music you otherwise would have tuned out, just so they can accumulate listeners to sell spots to advertisers. Think about it, it's radio with NONE OF THE COSTS!

Bob Lefsetz, Santa Monica-based industry legend, is the author of the e-mail newsletter, "The Lefsetz Letter". Famous for being beholden to no one, and speaking the truth, Lefsetz addresses the issues that are at the core of the music business: downloading, copy protection, pricing and the music itself. His intense brilliance captivates readers from Steven Tyler to Rick Nielsen to Bryan Adams to Quincy Jones to EVERYBODY who's in the music business. Never boring, always entertaining, Mr. Lefsetz's insights are fueled by his stint as an entertainment business attorney, majordomo of Sanctuary Music's American division and consultancies to major labels.

While Rhino may occasionally disagree with some of Bob's opinions, we certainly agree with his right to state them. At the bottom of each column we give you, the reader, the opportunity to respond and we encourage you to do so. We will post select comments.


LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

A word about submissions: We post what you give us, so please don't include your email address or any personal info. Your comments reach Rhino, not necessarily the writer, so don't expect a reply from them (or us, see our help section for contact info). We gather and post your submissions in batches, so do expect a short delay. And don't get bent if we edit your comments. We probably won't, but we reserve that right.


Comments:

If you put it on in the background, using the free service, there is no harm and no cost from Pandora. Kind of interesting. Certainly not worth the full-scall rant by Lefsetz. XM is also a programmed commercial enterprise. Why not advocate word of mouth and chatrooms only?

RIGHT ON. THIS AIN'T MY MUSIC.




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