Advertising on Pandora

When I get sick of the music on my iPod or iTunes, I often turn to Pandora to mix it up. As most everyone knows, it's Internet radio that allows you to pick a favorite artist or genre and it will play similar artists. The app on my phone is a lifesaver if I've forgotten my iPod when I'm driving, and one thing I've noticed as of late is the amount of advertising that goes into Pandora. 

Every few songs an advertisement for various products or services will come up. I've seen everything from ads for dating websites, insurance and Wal Mart.





Every few songs an advertisement for various products or services will come up. I've seen everything from ads for dating websites, insurance and Wal Mart. The ads that strike me the most, however, are for bands. There will typically be a snippet of a song played with an announcement saying, "Check out so and so's new album, out now!". I always thought these were bands that no one really listened to until I heard one of my favorites, Beach House, promoting their latest album Bloom on Pandora. Everyone in my friend group loves Beach House, so it's not that their music is that desperate or disliked (unless we have horrible taste in music), but after I heard that I realized what a great way advertising on Pandora can be for artists to get new listeners. Beach House, despite being one of my favorites, isn't a huge band and still play smaller venues and festivals.



If a Pandora listener is tuned to a station that has a similar sound to the artists that person already likes, there's a higher chance they'll check out the new artist. It's a fantastic way to reach a new audience and, at least in my case, I listen to the artist advertisements instead of just tuning them out like I do with ads for cars or insurance.