Pandora Unveils Holiday Season Genre Stations

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pandora (NYSE: P), the leading personalized radio service, today announced the annual genre addition of its popular holiday music stations. The seventeen unique holiday genre stations include 11 that are back by popular demand and six new ones for the 2011 holiday season that offer listeners a broad range of seasonal music to enjoy and personalize starting now through the New Year.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110615/SF20192LOGO)

Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Pandora, Tim Westergren, said, "Music is such a central part of the holiday experience and these stations provide listeners with a free, easy way to hear an endless soundtrack of their seasonal favorites. Whether you're cooking meals, baking tasty treats, entertaining family and friends, wrapping gifts or decorating the house, Pandora is the perfect companion."

Pandora holiday genre stations:

• Children's Christmas* -- delight children with a collection of family favorites and holiday music just for kids, perfect to listen to while decorating a tree or opening presents, and featuring artists like Sponge Bob Squarepants, Vince Guaraldi Trio, Connie Talbot and Kidz Bop Kids.
• Christmas -- enjoy an extensive mix of traditional Christmas favorites and timeless holiday classics spanning the decades and genres for the season from a variety of artists like Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra, John Lennon and Vince Guaraldi Trio.
• Christmas Blues -- listen to all of the best Blues hits from 50's Rock n' Roll to the most recent releases by B.B. King, Charles Brown, Keb Mo' and Elvis Presley.
• Classical Christmas -- hear a relaxing compilation of classical holiday pieces featuring orchestras, soloists and simply beautiful Christmas choirs from Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Orchestra, Antonio Vivaldi, The Cambridge Singers and George Winston.
• Contemporary Christian Holidays* -- experience the biggest Christian pop and gospel artists performing holiday classics including this year's highly anticipated new releases from artists like Amy Grant, Toby Mac, Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans.
• Country Christmas -- savor Country holiday favorites and discover new seasonal releases from Country stars such as Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Toby Keith and Alan Jackson.
• Electronic Holidays* -- dance to a mix of all the classic holiday favorites remixed by some of today's top names in Electronic music including Kaskade, Thunderball, Juan Atkins and Afrodisiac Soundsystem.
• Folk Holidays -- play a collection of holiday instrumentals from the finest Folk acoustic guitarists from the 70s to today like James Taylor, John Fahey, Sarah McLachlan and Stephen Bennett.
• Hanukkah -- celebrate Hanukkah with hits from Pacific Pops Orchestra, Margie Rosenthal, Ot Azoj Klezmer Band and Erran Baron Cohen.
• Indie Holidays* -- Indie fans can get in the spirit this season with holiday classics performed by Indie artists as well as Indie Christmas originals from artists like Low, Weezer, Bright Eyes and Sufjan Stevens.
• Jazz Holidays -- enjoy a tasty mix of instrumentals and vocals with a mellow holiday vibe interpreted by Jazz artists from yesterday and today like Ella Fitzgerald, Chris Botti, Ramsey Lewis and Vince Guaraldi Trio.
• Navidad Latina* -- tune in to a mix of Latin holiday classics by a wide variety of artists spanning the decades in the Latin genre, including Gilberto Santa Rosa, Celia Cruz Y La Sonora Matancera, Willie Colon and Luis Miguel.
• Peaceful Holidays -- create a serene soundtrack for your holiday celebrations with favorites by the world's most popular modern instrumentalists including Jim Brickman, Mannheim Steamroller, John Tesh and Tim Janis.
• R&B and Pop Holidays -- listen to a festive mix of R&B and Pop holiday classics from the cast of the hit show, Glee, Brian McKnight, Mariah Carey, Michael Buble and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
• Rockin' Holidays -- play a wide variety of Christmas tunes from Oldies to today's hits, sure to keep you rockin' through the season from artists like Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Brenda Lee and The Eagles.
• Swingin' Christmas -- swing into the holiday season with Christmas classics featuring the Big Band, the Rat Pack and a new generation of swinging music stars including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Harry Connick Jr.
• Tropical Holidays* -- sit back and relax with a mellow collection of Hawaiian, Reggae and Exotica sounds from artists like Jimmy Buffett, Don Ho, Joe Gibbs and Arthur Lyman.

*New holiday genre station for the 2011 holiday season

Fun facts about Pandora holiday genre stations:

• Christmas is the most popular holiday genre station on Pandora and has already broke the top 10 genre stations list
• The most spun song on the Christmas station is, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" by Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters and the most thumbed-up song on the Christmas station is, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year" by Andy Williams
• 27% of all unique listeners tuned in to a holiday station on Pandora in December 2010 
• One third of all listening hours on Pandora on Christmas day 2010 was holiday music
• One million holiday stations were created on Pandora on Christmas Eve 2010

In addition to offering a variety of holiday music, Pandora makes the perfect gift for a gracious hostess, friend, co-worker or any music-loving member of the family. Pandora One gift cards are available for purchase at all 1,762 Target stores nationwide and Target.com; each retails for $36 and is redeemable for a one-year subscription to a Pandora One account, which includes no advertisements. Gift subscriptions can also be purchased at www.pandora.com/gifting and are ideal for any last-minute gift needs since they can be emailed to the recipient.

For more information on the Pandora holiday genre stations, Pandora One gift cards or to speak to a Pandora representative, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT PANDORA

Pandora (NYSE: P) gives people music they love anytime, anywhere, through connected devices. (OK, we've added comedy as well so we're also up for playing some jokes you'll love.) Personalized stations launch instantly with the input of a single "seed" -- a favorite artist, song or genre. The Music Genome Project®, a deeply detailed hand-built musical taxonomy, powers the personalization of Pandora® internet radio by using musicological "DNA" and constant listener feedback to craft personalized stations from a growing collection of hundreds of thousands of recordings. Tens of millions of people in the U.S. turn on Pandora to hear music they love.  www.pandora.com

SOURCE Pandora