Finding new music used to mean waiting for your favorite bands to put out new albums, getting recommendations from friends, or browsing music blogs for something that might interest you.

Now music websites like Pandora allow you to enter one artist, genre, or composer and provide an endless stream of songs. But have you ever wondered how Pandora knows what you want to hear? We have the answers.

Pandora uses the Music Genome Project to predict the unique tastes of each individual listener. The Music Genome Project began in January 2000, over five years before Pandora launched, where rigorously trained musicologists examined thousands of songs from about 10,000 different artists.  Each song was examined using over 400 different musical characteristics such as melody, rhythm, and lyrics. The characteristics, called “genes,” can be as specific as gender of the lead singer or level of distortion on the electric guitar. Each gene is assigned a number between 0 and 5, in half-integer increments, and determined for each song. The music is organized by a complex mathematical algorithm and Pandora finds musical structures present in the songs you like, allowing it to play other songs that possess similar musical traits. Since its launch, Pandora continues to expand the Music Genome Project’s library of songs to include everything from the newest pop hits to classical music.

Pandora will even tell you why it plays certain songs. For example, I made a station based on the artist Beck and Pandora chose the song “Howlin’ For You” by the Black Keys next, saying, “From here on out we’ll be exploring other songs and artists that have musical qualities similar to Beck. This track, “Howlin’ For You” by The Black Keys, has similar electric rock instrumentation, blues influences, a subtle use of vocal harmony, minor key tonality and electric guitar riffs.”

Not every song will exactly match your style. By clicking either thumbs up or thumbs down on songs, Pandora will play songs that are genetically similar to songs you dislike less often and similar songs to ones you like more. Each time you like a song, dislike a song, or add more artists to base a station on, you further personalize your radio station to play songs you are likely to enjoy.

Though Pandora Media did license the ability to use the Music Genome Project to others at one time, they are now the only ones with access to the technology. Other music sites like Grooveshark or Spotify radio use different ways of selecting new songs largely based on popular songs or artists in the same genre. Finding new music using these platforms is often done by seeing what friends are listening to, but it isn’t tailored to your preferences the way Pandora is.

So start listening! Pandora might know you better than yourself and you might discover your next favorite band.

Interested in being a part of team that helps find the music people love? Check out these amazing STEM career opportunities at Pandora.