Each gene corresponds to a characteristic of the music, for example, gender of lead vocalist, prevalent use of groove, level of distortion on the electric guitar, type of background vocals, etc.
[2] The Music Genome Project's database is built using a methodology that includes the use of precisely defined terminology, a consistent frame of reference, redundant analysis, and ongoing quality control to ensure that data integrity remains reliably high.
The Music Genome Project was first conceived by Will Glaser in late 1999, and populated with musicological input from Tim Westergren in early 2000.
In January 2000, they joined forces with Jon Kraft to found Savage Beast Technologies to bring their idea to market.
The mark is owned by the company Pandora Media, Inc.[5] The Music Genome Project is covered by U.S. patent 7,003,515 which shows William T. Glaser, Timothy B. Westergren, Jeffrey P. Stearns, and Jonathan M. Kraft as the inventors of this technology.