New Music Biz 101: Pandora & Jango
posted in: Features
As discussed in last week’s post, online radio can be a useful tool for artists. Listening to music online is continuing to increase in popularity, and although this business model is likely to change as the industry continues to fluctuate, these resources are worth taping into for the moment. Today, we’ll continue the discussion with Pandora and Jango.
We’ll begin chronologically with Pandora, one of the first online radio sites to generate a significant level of popularity. Pandora has been fighting the good fight”making their business model both free of both cost and advertisements. They’ve recently added short 10-second ads to the non-paying users experience. Like most of the online radio streaming sites, Pandora recommends new music based on your previous selections and caters your recommendations based on your ratings of each song.
As an artist, this is something worth trying to get involved with, as it allows music listeners that like your genre and style of music to hear your songs. Besides the popularity of this platform, and the ability to align your music with similar artists, perhaps the best benefit is that it’s free to have your music played in their rotation. However, there is a slight catch. Pandora has a more fortified entry barrier than both Jango and Grooveshark since they listen to every song that is submitted before deciding whether or not it will be accepted. The submission process is extensive and requires that you sell your physical album on Amazon, and requires that you send your entire record to Pandora for review if you’re accepted.
Jango is everywhere in the music business. If you’ve ever signed up for an online music service, there is a good chance they’re a partner of Jango. Jango offers an affordable solution to getting your music plays and helps your connect with potential listeners. You’re able to message users that become fans of your music through the Jango platform. When listening to your music, the fan can read more about you as an artist and click your Facebook, MySpace or Twitter links to deepen the connection.
The return on investment (ROI) for Pandora is obvious. If you have an album that you believe is worthwhile, why not submit it? It’s free. As for the ROI of Jango, I would recommend purchasing 1,000 plays for $30 and see what comes out the other end. See how many fans you gain, and what you can make happen from connecting with those fans.
In the next few posts we’ll be discussing topics including Social Media, Gig Tools, Distribution, Web design and many more! So please let us know if you know any companies worth mentioning within these areas.