FRESH PANDORA ARTIST PROFILE FEATURES: SPOTLIGHT PICKS, CUSTOM BIOS, and beautiful COVER PHOTOS

Calling all artists! Millions of listeners visit Pandora Artist Profiles every month, so we’re very excited to share a whole bunch of improvements to Pandora AMP Artist Profiles that are designed to make life easier for you and your fans. Take a look at what’s new below!

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Showcase Music and Podcasts With Spotlight Picks

Spotlight Picks are a perfect way to highlight music and podcasts to fans on your Pandora artist profile. While other music services typically only allow you to choose one item to promote, on Pandora AMP you can choose up to 10 items across a variety of content types from Pandora’s full catalog. Whether it’s a new album or single release, a curated station or playlist, or even a podcast, the spotlight section is yours to mix and match picks however you wish.

To make things even easier, you can also set start and end flight dates for your Spotlight Picks. You can do this well in advance so you can plan for your Spotlight Picks to air exactly when you prefer.

Once you’ve added Spotlight Picks, they will remain visible to fans on your profile for up to six months.

Customize Your Artist Bio

Artists have long requested the ability to write their own bios and so we're thrilled that you can now truly tell your story to fans with custom bios on your artist profile.

Beautify Your Artist Profile With a Cover Photo

In addition to your profile photo, you can now make your artist profile really pop with a high-resolution cover photo. Adding a cover photo showcases more of your personality to fans and gets people’s attention by switching your artist profile to an eye-catching new page layout for listeners.

Please note:

• A cover photo can only be an image of the artist.

• The expected turnaround time for bio and photo approvals is generally 1-2 days.

• The user must own the license rights to upload a photo.

Visit Pandora AMP and navigate to your artist’s profile tab today to showcase music and podcasts to fans with Spotlight Picks, tell your story with a custom bio, or beautify your profile with a snazzy new cover photo.

View this handy Playbook how-to guide and FAQ for more tips and info. We can’t wait to see your creativity shine.

New and Improved Artist Insights!

We’re excited to announce a new fresh look and some additional features to Artist Insights in Pandora AMP! Artists can use the Insights tab to view their overall stream data, top collaborations, programming placements, artist metric graphs, their audience map and their top 5 artist tracks across Pandora!

Manage Subscriptions

With the new and improved Insights tab, you’ll be able to manage your artist subscriptions and email notifications right at the top of the page. Here you can opt in to receive three different types of notifications, including At the Moment, Week in Review and the recently introduced Milestones. 

Collaborations and Other Profiles

In this section of Insights, you can view your top collaborations or you have the option of hiding them. Clicking on one of your collaborations will bring you to that profile’s Insights page.

Programming Placements

In the Programming Placements section, you can view all of the current editorial programs that include any of your tracks. With the redesign, you’re able to see all of these programs in a gallery view along with shareable links for each program.

Artist Metrics

With Artist Metrics, we offer multiple graphs and views displaying your overall performance on Pandora. Here you can select the time range and change filters to view streams, thumbs, listeners and station adds. And for the first time ever, you’ll be able to download a CSV report directly from AMP. In addition, you have the option of selecting either line or bar graphs to view your metrics, depending on your preference. 

Top Tracks

You can now view your top 5 tracks across Pandora directly in Insights. In this section, you’ll see each track’s artwork and the total number of streams it currently has on Pandora. Clicking on one of your top tracks will also bring you to the track reporting page, giving you many more details about this track’s performance across Pandora.

Audience Map

The Audience Map now includes the ability to download the map data as a CSV. As always, you can use this section to view your streaming data from across the entire country to see where your fans are listening. Your upcoming shows will appear here as well and you can follow the prompts to create targeted audio messages to offer tickets to shows in specific regions.

We hope you find the new and improved Insights tab useful in gaining a clear picture of how your music performs on Pandora! 

Creator Notifications Update

We’re excited to announce an update to Creator Notifications! In 2022, we launched Creator Notifications, which allowed AMP users to subscribe to email notifications for artists they follow. These notifications included “Week in Review” and “At the Moment” emails so AMP users can get regular updates about recent editorial placements and spin metrics. Today marks a complete redesign of the existing notifications, as well as a new, third type of notification, Milestones!

Milestones allows AMP users to receive important landmark notifications, such as, when an artist’s track reaches the elite “Million Streams Club.” Milestone notifications include a custom visual asset in multiple sizes to download and share. We’ll be gradually introducing different types of Milestone notifications, so we encourage you to sign up today.

When you log in to AMP, simply navigate to the profile of the artist you would like to follow. In the Insights tab, scroll down to “Follow Artist.” There you can click the star icon to follow that artist and they’ll appear directly on your dashboard. You can then click the mail icon to opt in to receive email notifications. Clicking the gear icon will allow you to customize the email notifications you would like to receive, including At the Moment, Week in Review and now, Milestones. 

Pandora Curator Profiles Are Live!

We’re very excited to announce the release of curator profiles! All types of curators on Pandora including labels, DJs, songwriters, journalists, writers, actors, chefs, influencers and more, will now have a listener-facing profile where they can showcase the playlists, stations, and Stories they’ve made using Pandora AMP’s free curation tools.

Curator Programs

Ben Fong-Torres (journalist / author) - Stories with Ben Fong-Torres

Shelly Peiken (songwriter / musician) - The Songs Of Shelly Peiken

Third Man Records (record label) - The Stories Behind Southeast Of Saturn

Sameer Gadhia (musician / podcaster) - Point Of Origin

Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa (chef / television personality) - Road Trip

Chrissy Metz (actress) - Feel Good Playlist

Why Curation Matters

As content creation and catalog volume have exploded over the last several years, the art of curation has proven to be more important than ever. As listeners often struggle with the barrage of content out there, more people are turning to the curators they trust for specialized listening experiences and uniquely curated programming. With curator profiles on Pandora, it is now easier than ever for fans to discover and engage with the curated programs they love.

“Approximately 50,000 songs get uploaded a day and the average music listener doesn’t have to go through it all to find good music. That’s where curators come in. Using our expertise and passion for music we go through all of the tracks and pick out the best ones for different listening experiences.” - Josh “J1” Raiford, Vice President of Sirius XM/Pandora Programming

Since Pandora Stories was launched in 2019, curators have been using the Pandora AMP toolset to create unique programs, sharing the stories behind some of their favorite music. Artists, labels, podcasters, songwriters, producers, DJs, authors, influencers and anyone who counts music as part of their creative process, have been making programs in their own unique voices to celebrate the music in their lives, whether they create music or are avid listeners.

“Pandora is proud to continue to wave the flag for human curation. Remember passing that mix cd of your favorite songs to your friends? Well, it still happens in AMP where we lovingly seek out the best new music and amplify it across our platform for our listeners to get turned on to something new. We know there are a ton of offerings out there, but rest assured we’re hand selecting the best new music so it doesn’t get lost in all the digital distraction.” - Chris Patyk, Assoc. Director Music Programming, Rock

DISCOVERING CURATORS ON PANDORA

Curators now have a home for all of their content on Pandora and can use their curator profile to help grow their audience. The new curator profiles showcase dedicated sections for both stations and playlists, as well as displaying curator images and bios. Pandora listeners can easily discover more programs by their favorite curators and keep up with the new programs they are creating.

For listeners using the Pandora mobile app, you can go to a curator’s profile from a program they’ve created by scrolling to the bottom and tapping on the “More by curator” option which will bring you to the curator’s profile. For listeners on the web platform, select a program and click the “by curator” link under the program title to view all of that curator’s programs.

Become a Curator on Pandora

Verified curators already creating programs in Pandora AMP are now able to go to their Profile tab after signing in to upload a curator photo, submit a custom bio, and share their curator profile link with their fans. Sign in to check it out:

Sup Pop’s Pandora AMP Curator Profile

If you’re interested in becoming a curator and creating your own programs on Pandora, you can sign up for it here:

All artists who have claimed their profiles on Pandora AMP, will automatically have the Programs option available to them. If you’re an artist new to AMP, you can get started by claiming your artist profile here:

So far, curators of all kinds have created thousands of incredible programs on Pandora, offering a wide array of original and exclusive listening experiences. We encourage you to check some of them out, and then make your own!

Pandora Stories for All Artists

Ever since Pandora Stories launched in 2019, select verified artists like John Mayer, Maren Morris, Chris Isaak, and Lance Allen, as well as verified labels like Smithsonian Folkways, Sub Pop, Yep Roc and Hollywood Records, have all been using AMP’s Pandora Stories to craft hosted playlists and mixtapes on Pandora.

Pandora Stories have quickly become one of the most popular tools in our AMP creator toolset. Whether promoting a new release or guiding fans through your catalog, Pandora Stories are a unique and highly personal way to engage with listeners and personalize your music by sharing anecdotes about your music and telling those stories in your own voice. 

Today, we’re opening up these powerful curation tools so that all verified artist profiles in AMP will have access to Pandora Stories and the ability to curate playlists and mixtapes, with the option of adding a voice component to both listener formats – giving more meaning, heart, and insight into your fans' favorite music.

Whether you choose to make a playlist (a sequenced mix) or a mixtape (a shuffled, radio-like lean-back experience), both allow you to craft unique programs to share with your fans. What was it like recording your most recent record? What artists have influenced your sound the most? Who are some of your current favorite artists? In addition to your own music, Pandora Stories gives you access to all of the music on Pandora, and allows you the creativity and freedom to build and share whatever kind of program you can dream up.

In addition to having the Programs tab available in every artist’s AMP profile, which is where Pandora Stories are created, these programs will also be visible to listeners in a new dedicated section of each artist’s page on Pandora:

Within AMP, artists will be able to view in-depth performance metrics (top-level and track-level) for each and every program they create.

“We use Pandora Stories for our artists who want to give fans a deeper look into their work and build up that personal connection. Whether it's a specially curated playlist for current favorites or a track-by-track commentary on their latest release, we love that we can give artists the freedom to elaborate on their art however they please and speak directly to their fanbase.” - Diana Buchert, Nettwerk Music Group

Since the launch of Pandora Stories, artists and labels have created tens of thousands of programs, resulting in nearly TWO BILLION spins!

Check out some of our favorite Pandora Stories of the past below:

The World Is In Your Way: The Story Of CAVE IN

BUN E CARLOS On Jimi Hendrix

Third Man Records: Ben Blackwell and Jim Fishel on Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969

Halloween with ALICE COOPER

MAREN MORRIS on her new album GIRL

KENNY LOGGINS: Behind the Hits

Visit AMP today to create your own Pandora Stories for your listeners to enjoy. We’re excited to see what you’ll come up with!

The new Pandora Charts website

We are proud to announce the launch of a new Pandora Charts website, which will now host all three Pandora charts: Top Thumb Hundred, Trendsetters and Top Spins.

The charts are updated weekly and can be viewed on pandoracharts.com, or users can subscribe via the site, and have any or all of the charts sent directly as individual weekly emails.

Each chart provides unique, valuable and timely insight into an artist’s performance on Pandora, giving you access to listener feedback and spin data, as well as emerging artists, any of whom could be the next big thing!

THE CHARTS:

Top Thumb Hundred 

Pandora’s newest chart ranks recent releases based on the number of thumbs up they’re given by Pandora’s listeners. Pandora’s thumbing feature is a strong signal of positive feedback and gives unique insight into the first-week reception of new releases.

Top Spins

Top Spins ranks the top hundred spinning songs on Pandora. Tracks are removed after sixteen weeks to keep the chart fresh, unless they’re still climbing in position, which we call a “hot streak”.

Trendsetters

Ranks emerging artists (any artist our algorithm considers to not yet be “mainstream”) based on the number of users who are adding that artist’s station. This is a strong signal of Pandora listeners’ interest in an artist and a great way to discover the next big thing!

The Top Thumb Hundred Chart is published on Sunday afternoon. Top Spins and Trendsetters are published on Monday afternoon.

In addition to the chart itself, each Chart offers three actions: play, subscribe, copy link:

PLAY: Opens a Pandora station featuring all the songs on the Chart

COPY LINK: Share a link to any of the Charts

SUBSCRIBE: Sign up for the Chart in email form, which you’ll start receiving the following week

And if you like receiving Chart emails? Creator Notifications are also available to all AMP users!

Introducing Creator Notifications in AMP

Creator Notifications allow AMP users to “follow” artists and subscribe to two different types of email notifications. This helps artists and their teams keep track of their Pandora performance metrics, without having to log in to the web application each time.

HOW IT WORKS

To follow an artist, navigate to their artist page in AMP and go to the Insights tab. Under the Pandora Spotlights section, you’ll be able to click the star icon to begin following an artist. Then you’ll be able to click the email icon to subscribe to emails for that artist.

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS

From either the Artist Dashboard or an individual artist page, clicking “Manage Subscriptions” will allow you to pick and choose which email notifications you subscribe to.

In addition to choosing which artists, we have two separate emails: “At the Moment” gives timely updates on a regular basis. For example, you’ll get an At the Moment email when an artist you follow is added to an editorial program. Where as “Week in Review” is a weekly email that arrives each Monday with track reporting metrics and other updates for that artist from the previous seven days. 

WEEK IN REVIEW EMAIL

AT THE MOMENT EMAIL

Introducing Track Reporting in AMP

Creators! We can't wait to share the newest addition to the AMP toolset! We now offer Track Reporting, the most in-depth insight yet into the performance of your content on Pandora. Track Reporting can now be found via the Catalog Tab on your AMP artist page.

What is the Catalog Tab?

The Catalog Tab now hosts our newest AMP feature, Track Reporting! AMP users with access to an artist page can now see total Streams, Radio Spins, Interactive Plays, Station Adds, and Thumbs Up for each track right on the Catalog Tab, where they’ve previously clicked to see all the tracks they’ve delivered to Pandora.

WHAT DATA IS AVAILABLE IN THE CATALOG TAB?

Pretty much everything! You can now click on a track to dive into a reporting page dedicated to that track, featuring a line graph for daily trends as well as a “source breakdown” section, showing which programs your track is being streamed on. All metrics are available with custom date ranges as well. Together, these features offer a series of improvements on the way Pandora data has been presented in Next Big Sound, and ultimately eliminates the need for users to navigate to a separate platform for this reporting.

HOW DOES TRACK REPORTING WORK?

Navigate to the Catalog tab and you’ll see the tracks you have spinning on Pandora. Also displayed will be lifetime streams, a share link, streams this month, last month, percent change, release date as well as a confirmation that the track qualifies for Premium Access.

Now click on a track, and it will open a details page specifically designed for this track. The details page displays high level data (streams, station adds, etc.):

As well as a line graph for daily trends:

Under the Catalog Tab for the band Milky Chance, you can see the sizable spike in listening for the song “Colorado” in its first week.

Scroll further down and you’ll find “Source Categories,” which can be seen on the pie chart in the image below. Source categories are organized into three sections: “Algorithmic,” “Editorial,” and “Organic.” 

Here’s a breakdown of each category:

• “Algorithmic” sources are those primarily driven by recommendation algorithms. This includes other artists’ radio stations and autoplay from any source.

• “Editorial” sources include all genre stations, editorial playlists, and mixtapes.

• “Organic” sources are primarily driven by listener choice: an artist’s own radio station or an artist’s own track station.

By clicking a section of the pie chart, you’ll be able to see the top 10 sources in each category, which can be sorted by streams, thumbs, or listeners.

Since “Colorado” is a new release, its spins are being primarily driven by editorial stations like Today’s Alternative and New Pop. When fans are starting to seek out your music organically, Pandora’s Music Genome algorithm begins learning to play it on your artist station – and as it learns more, your music will start playing more frequently and on various other stations.

Announcing a New Partnership with Chartmetric!

We are excited to announce that SiriusXM/Pandora has partnered with the music analytics platform, Chartmetric, to host Pandora data for top music industry clients around the world. Separate from Pandora AMP, this partnership marks the first time Pandora data has been available publicly via a third-party analytics platform. 

Starting October 27th, Pandora 28-day unique listener counts, daily/lifetime station adds, and daily/lifetime stream counts will be available at both the artist level and the track level for Chartmetric’s Free and Premium tiers.

In addition, Chartmetric will create several Pandora-centric charts, such as top unique listener counts and top lifetime streams, as well as host three of Pandora’s own weekly charts (Pandora Trendsetters, Pandora Top Spins and Pandora Predictions). By adding Pandora data alongside data from other popular platforms like TikTok and Twitch, Chartmetric will offer a unique portrait of streaming data to benefit artists, managers, labels and brands. 

"We're thrilled to be partnering with Chartmetric to make our data available through their tools, which we know are well-regarded by artists and their teams,” says Dan Wissinger at Pandora. “When armed with the right data, artists can build an audience on Pandora that moves the needle and continues to tune in long after release week."