Peter Gabriel launches recommendation site The Filter

Peter Gabriel has launched a new website dedicated to helping users find music and movies to fit their taste.

The Filter is described as a discovery service: tell it the movies, music and web videos that you enjoy, and it will make daily recommendations of new material you might like. The site will not go public until next month, but users can register with the site right now to participate in its private beta testing phase.

Gabriel told CNET that his vision for The Filter was to help people find quality films and music that they ordinarily might not come across. “When you drown people in an ocean of information, you’ve got to give them navigation tools,” he said. “I know that there is better stuff out there than what I am generally exposed to… So if I have a sort of intelligent ally working with me 24 hours a day, I think I have a much better chance of getting the stuff that will entertain, excite, and inspire me.”

The Filter is Gabriel’s second venture into digital media. He co-founded European digital music provider OD2 in 2000, which was later sold for about $20 million. Gabriel partnered with Eden Ventures and Real World Group to put up $8.5 million to start the site, which takes a slightly different approach to recommendations than sites like Amazon.com or Netflix.

Instead of relying on ratings users assign to music and movies online, the engine tracks what users actually do with this content on the Internet – such as buying or streaming a song, or clicking on a related link. The engine also adapts its recommendations as users’ tastes change; simply put, the site doesn’t suggest content a user would have been interested in two years ago.

The Filter recommends music, film and online video content right now, but one day could expand to include other areas, such as travel destinations and restaurants. Gabriel told Fortune that the site’s primary purpose is to guide users who are stressed out by the infinite amount of information swirling around in the digital age. “Everyone got really excited about the concept of infinite choice through the Internet,” he said. “The reality is a little like getting a sore thumb with your remote on your television. Too much choice is not always a good thing.”

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