We launched Pandora AMP in 2014 with a mission to help artists of all sizes build their careers and grow their fans. Today, we’re proud to be celebrating 5 exciting years of work towards our mission by highlighting some of the key moments in our journey so far.
One of the first big milestones for Pandora AMP was the introduction of our core, self-serve tools - Artist Audio Messages (AAMs) and Featured Tracks (FTs) - allowing all artists, ranging from independent artists to superstars, to engage with Pandora’s audience. As of this month, we’re thrilled to share that there have been over 4.5 Billion Audio Impressions of AAMs recorded by artists talking to their fans, sharing the background behind their favorite songs, and promoting their music. Some favorites include the AAMs below from Anderson Paak and Lizzo.
But we didn’t stop there! Enhancements to the Artist Audio Message tool provide even more value to artists with the introduction of integrations with ticketing providers like Songkick, Eventbrite, and Ticketmaster. Artists have been able to geo-target tailored messages, letting their fans know about shows in their area for years now, boosting their fan engagement and ticket sales.
Building on that success, earlier this month we released an Audience Map feature so artists can see a map of where their fans are throughout the United States on the Insights Tab, making it simpler than ever to use audience data to fuel marketing efforts towards promoting shows.
Upcoming U.S. tour dates are visible on the map as well so you can go straight from getting insights on your audience to promoting shows with geo-targeted AAMs.
While a lot of the growth we’ve seen can be attributed to the improvement and refinement of these core tools, the Pandora AMP offering has expanded over time to include additional features and serve new types of creators. A prime example of that can be seen with the launch of Pandora Stories; a feature combining the best aspects of podcasts and playlists – allowing artists, actors, filmmakers, athletes, celebrities, authors and beyond to tell their stories by adding commentary alongside music and comedy.
To get a taste: check out Ned LeDoux’s Pandora Story, where he talks about songs from his first album, plus several classic songs by his Dad Chris LeDoux and the stories behind them. In Pandora Stories: Olivia Wilde on the Music of Booksmart, Olivia Wilde talks about the motivation behind the selection of songs in her movie “Booksmart,” illustrating how the tool can be used for compelling storytelling by creators other than artists themselves.
For creators with their own podcasts, the self-serve Pandora for Podcasters tool has opened the door to Pandora’s vast audience through the Podcast Genome Project. For independent artists eager to get their music live on all tiers of Pandora, the newly revamped Artist Submissions tool is another self-serve option helping creators to get their content live and available for Pandora listeners.
Detailed analytics are available to creators in AMP alongside most of the tools but if you’re an artist, manager, or label looking for more data beyond what you’re seeing in AMP, be sure to check out Next Big Sound for a comprehensive look at Pandora performance and receive notifications when artists you follow are added to a playlist or station by Pandora’s curation programming team.
We’re dedicated to empowering creators to build their careers, so it’s been a pleasure to see the entire creator community engaging and growing with AMP. In the last 12 months alone, we’ve seen a 688% increase of monthly active creators on AMP!
The past 5 years have been an incredible journey, and we’re excited to continue expanding our offerings and supporting the creator community for the next 5 years and beyond.