Pandora Vs. LaunchCast
(By request . . .)

This service comparison was performed meticulously and scientifically . . . ok, so I just listened for 15 minutes each while cataloging today. But the results may offer insight for the average frenzied blue collar librarian.

I created a radio station for Great Big Sea, my favorite band – a Celtic-pub-song-folk-shanty group.

Pandora recognized the band right away, offering up so
me alternatives that were “cheeky and college friendly” with “mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation” and “interweaving vocal harmony.” These they peppered with my favorite selections from a variety of Great Big Sea’s albums.

(Honestly – it’s like they knooow me – the first they played was first GBS song that I ever heard, then the song I sing to my friend in the Navy . . . . Spooky.)

Pandora plays songs from the original band every fourth selection or so. Then, you can click on the artist to figure out why they played it, add new artists to mix up the tonality, or enter specific songs to focus on a certain style.

Launchcast, on the other hand – first, offered up some commercials. Then, Audioslave. O.K.

“A bit of a stretch, but Pandora had selected Audioslave for me before – on other stations,” I tell myself. We’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.

And then up pops Fergie. Of the Black Eyed Peas, Charlie Brown and Quentin Tarantino fame. Say what? Launchcast seems to think its purpose is promoting the latest payola’d artist on the block – the artists we could turn to any top 100 radio station for – instead of new-to-me artists in the Celtic rock genre.

If I've unfairly judged it, feel free to let me know in the comments. I'm going to do "10 Things You Didn't Know about Pandora" tomorrow, and then move onto a different topic. I promise. Maybe even pick up a magazine, like Jaina does.