Pandora Launches Podcast Offerings Powered by Podcast Genome

Pandora, the largest streaming music provider in the U.S., unveiled its podcast offering, powered by the Podcast Genome Project, a cataloging system and discovery algorithm that uses a combination of technology and human curation to deliver personalized content recommendations.

Pandora will roll out beta access to select listeners on mobile devices. Those interested in early access can sign up now with general availability in the coming weeks.

Similar to how its namesake the Music Genome Project has helped become the best and easiest way to discover music online since 2005, the Podcast Genome Project recommends the right podcasts to the right listeners at the right time. It solves the questions “is there a podcast that is right for me?” and “what should I listen to next?’

The Podcast Genome Project evaluates content based on more than 1500 attributes – spanning MPAA ratings, timely and evergreen topics, production style, content type, host profile, etc. – and listener signals including thumbs, skips and replays.

Similar to the Music Genome Project, the Podcast Genome Project combines these techniques with Pandora’s expert in-house curation team to offer episode-level podcast recommendations that reflect who you are today and evolve with you tomorrow.

Can your podcast get on Pandora? It depends. Pandora has partnered with: APM, Gimlet, HeadGum, Maximum Fun, NPR, Parcast, PRX-PRI, reVolver, Slate, The New York Times, The Ramsey Network, The Ringer, WNYC Studios, and Wondery. If your podcast is not on one of these podcast hosting sites, then you can’t get it on Pandora.