"Hmmm,
radio on the internet. That's cool. Now what?"
In October of 1999, MediaUnbound's founding team first flipped the streaming switch at WHRB-FM -- Harvard University's student radio station. Sure, webcasting to the world was pretty exciting, but it wasn't like our mothers were sitting around listening to music using a computer. What steps were needed to make digital music a mainstream media -- as easy as switching on the radio?
We founded MediaUnbound a few months later in January of 2000 to provide part of the answer. As listeners gain access to large catalogs of digital music, they need efficient ways to find forgotten favorites, discover new gems, and explore. Music providers which invest heavily in deep catalogs and customer acquisition seek to build healthy, trusted relationships with their listeners while continually offering exciting musical experiences. Communities of music fans want an easy method to find and connect with like-minded listeners from whom they can interact and learn about new music. MediaUnbound makes digital music a mass activity by solving these problems.
Starting in the summer of 2000, MediaUnbound initiated a series of music recommendation experiments. In-house teams of 10 music analysts conducted detailed 30 minute interviews with a variety of listeners. Based on their research, the analysts collaboratively built recommended playlists "personalized" for each listener. Our goal: Simulate the personalization process in a way that is scalable and done in real-time for a large body of listeners and massive catalogs of extremely diverse music.
The approach has resulted in formally modeling not listeners or music, but the complex and meaningful perception that occurs when a person listens to music. Instead of implementing a silver-bullet technology, MediaUnbound mixes multiple algorithms and technical approaches with the expertise of an in-house team of music analysts to create a variety of music recommendation and personalization products.
MediaUnbound is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, MA with personnel in the UK, Germany, and Japan. With ring-side seats to the dot-com meltdown, MediaUnbound has been profitable since 2003. The company is exclusively focused on licensing its technology to music providers and does not offer services directly to consumers.
In October of 1999, MediaUnbound's founding team first flipped the streaming switch at WHRB-FM -- Harvard University's student radio station. Sure, webcasting to the world was pretty exciting, but it wasn't like our mothers were sitting around listening to music using a computer. What steps were needed to make digital music a mainstream media -- as easy as switching on the radio?
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We founded MediaUnbound a few months later in January of 2000 to provide part of the answer. As listeners gain access to large catalogs of digital music, they need efficient ways to find forgotten favorites, discover new gems, and explore. Music providers which invest heavily in deep catalogs and customer acquisition seek to build healthy, trusted relationships with their listeners while continually offering exciting musical experiences. Communities of music fans want an easy method to find and connect with like-minded listeners from whom they can interact and learn about new music. MediaUnbound makes digital music a mass activity by solving these problems.
Starting in the summer of 2000, MediaUnbound initiated a series of music recommendation experiments. In-house teams of 10 music analysts conducted detailed 30 minute interviews with a variety of listeners. Based on their research, the analysts collaboratively built recommended playlists "personalized" for each listener. Our goal: Simulate the personalization process in a way that is scalable and done in real-time for a large body of listeners and massive catalogs of extremely diverse music.
 |
The approach has resulted in formally modeling not listeners or music, but the complex and meaningful perception that occurs when a person listens to music. Instead of implementing a silver-bullet technology, MediaUnbound mixes multiple algorithms and technical approaches with the expertise of an in-house team of music analysts to create a variety of music recommendation and personalization products.
MediaUnbound is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, MA with personnel in the UK, Germany, and Japan. With ring-side seats to the dot-com meltdown, MediaUnbound has been profitable since 2003. The company is exclusively focused on licensing its technology to music providers and does not offer services directly to consumers.
