It’s an online extension of the free, live concert series that the company debuted earlier in the month. The Pandora live concert series hub, presented as video, is currently sponsored by Budweiser. It can be accessed at: www.pandora.com/pandorapresents. You must first enter your birth date to get in.
The live concert series launched in Portland, OR 12/13 with Dawes, an emerging rock band from SoCal. As the official launch sponsor, Budweiser presented the inaugural concert free of charge to more than 230 fans, and is now bringing the experience online via the dedicated hub.
All artists that participate in Pandora’s live concert series will be showcased on the hub, which currently offers behind-the-scenes video content from the Dawes concert, including interviews with the band and fans, the band as they tour Portland, Pandora Founder Tim Westergren interacting with the band and highlights from the evening. The hub also features a curated mixtape with up to 100 songs selected by the band and Pandora music analysts.
Pandora determines the right mix of artists and locations for the live concert series from a unique collection of spin and thumbs-up data. Listeners can look forward to more of these types of concerts in different cities across the country in 2012.
RBR-TVBR asked Pandora how it might sell the web hub and concert series locally to pair market-specific bands with advertisers in their markets: “We plan to have several concerts in different cities across the country in 2012 and are exploring all types of possibilities, including national and local sponsorships. Right now, we’re pleased to have Budweiser as our official launch sponsor of the inaugural live concert and dedicated online hub.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Pandora is now becoming a platform for connecting brands, bands, and fans, as it says. The web hub and concert series, because it relies on video, brings a whole new dimension of appeal for advertisers—and opens the door for local ones as well, as Pandora’s pitch will be to connect local listeners with local bands they love. Of course, traditional radio is welcome to offer up this opportunity as well via their web presence (certainly it has been done on-air)—we just wish it was local radio that came up with the idea, group-wide, instead of having to play catch-up to Pandora again.
