abstract = "The intentionally ambiguous expression Popular Music
Browser reflects the two main goals of this project,
which started in 1998, at Sony Computer Science
Laboratories. First, we are interested in human-centred
issues related to browsing Popular Music. Popular here
means that the music accessed is distributed widely and
known to many listeners. Second, we consider popular
browsing of music, i.e., making music accessible to
non-specialists (music lovers) and allowing sharing of
musical tastes and information within communities,
departing from the usual, single-user view of digital
libraries. This research project covers all areas of
the music-to-listener chain, from music description,
descriptor extraction from the music signal, or data
mining techniques, similarity-based access, and novel
music retrieval methods such as automatic sequence
generation, and to user interface issues. This article
describes the scientific and technical issues at stake
and the results obtained, and is illustrated by
prototypes developed within the European IST project
Cuidado.",