Luke Abaffy's Pandora Radio account includes personalized radio stations inspired by some of his favorite artists: Modest Mouse and The Kinks.
But Abaffy, a junior studying magazine journalism, also uses the online music service to listen to classical music by composers such as Beethoven.
I used to play piano and I kind of like classical music
Abaffy said. I know a little about it but even if you don't know (a piece) you can still tell if you like it or not.
For Abaffy and many other students, online music services are an easy way to experience new genres. And sites such as Pandora are making it easier for younger audiences to access and explore classical music, said W. Michael Parkinson, director of the Ohio University School of Music.
Founded in 2000, Pandora is a free Internet service that lets users listen to pre-made radio stations or create their own. Listeners can choose an artist or song and the site will suggest music that is similar. Listeners can vote whether they like or dislike the song and Pandora will customize the station based on their feedback.
Other sites similar to Pandora include Last.fm and Slacker.com.
These sites make classical music readily available, but students don't need to have extensive knowledge of classical works to find it, Parkinson said.
For a lot of people classical music is foreign territory and feels unwelcoming
said Tim Westergren, founder and chief strategy officer for Pandora. Pandora makes it easy to explore. If Mozart is the only name you know
it's enough to get started.
Pandora has 25 million listeners and college-aged users are one of the most active groups on the site, Westergren said.
For many years, classical music lagged behind modern music when it came to popularity and online presence, said Nolan Gasser, chief musicologist for Pandora and artistic director of the classical music Web site classicalarchives.com.
Classical music was seen as old-fashioned and uncool, especially among young people, and it was difficult to find specific movements or even composers on the Internet, Gasser said.
But now there is more classical music on the Internet and with sites like Pandora, more people are opening up to classical pieces, he said.
I think we are kind of in a post-modern world and barriers are breaking down
Gasser said. Now it's as easy to listen to Rachmaninov as it is to listen to Nine Inch Nails.
Patrick Muhlberger, a junior studying video production, uses Pandora to listen to acoustic folk as well as classical music.
I go to the ready-made classical station
he said. I like to listen to it
but I don't know anything about it. I can just click the classical button and relax.
Jon Rushton, a junior studying business, uses Pandora on his iPhone to listen to many different types of music. He used the site to listen to classical music last year in his residence hall, but now listens to more rock and electronica.
There are a lot of different artists I've come upon
he said. It's good to discover new things.
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