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Pandora's Buy of Ticketfly Rocks for Indie Artists

Tova Kamioner

15 years ago, Pandora's Genome project started matching listeners with artists they want to hear.

This week, Pandora partnered with Ticketfly, bringing the Genome project to life and changing the entire game for indie musicians (for the better).

Pandora announced yesterday that they've splurged on Ticketfly, an independent ticketing company and a major TicketMaster competitor. They plan to sell tickets to listeners through the streaming service, and we all know there is nothing like hearing your favorite artist live.

Sure, there's virtue to the internet radio, headphone music experience. But nothing compares to standing, dancing, and singing with fellow fans in a crowded room; nothing compares to hearing your favorite artist's riffs, backstories, and commentary live.

Nothing compares to experiencing music with the artists themselves, and Pandora knows this.

Though, really, no one knows this better than independent artists. Indie artists have some of the most committed fan bases and often the best, most intimate live show experiences. Not to mention, live events substantiate the majority of indie artists' financial backing. By connecting with Ticketfly, Pandora has ushered in a new era of personalized music--admittedly, publicity is rough out there for an independent artist (we can't all be Kanye). With this partnership, indie artists will no longer need to spam fans or blindly hope that people will hear about their concerts. Instead, they'll be able to reach the exact people who want (or will want) to connect with them.

Ticketfly already mostly works with artists who fill small to mid-sized venues. Plus, active Pandora listeners are likely to want to go to more concerts, especially if the information for the concert is given to them.

Ticketfly alone sold 16 million tickets to more than 90,000 live events last year.

Pandora adds the tremendous potential to find and target specific fans--the service has over 80 million users, and Ticketfly cited Pandora's ticketing success in their recent press release: "Pandora sold out 55,000 tickets for the recent Rolling Stones tour in 24 hours. Their ability to sell tickets for lesser known acts is equally impressive. A Pandora pre-sale for ODESZA (an up-and-coming EDM act) blew through 25,000 tickets."

In an age when so much of music is online, it's even more important for musicians to connect with their fans in person and make new fans, too.

Pandora's partnership with Ticketfly will likely give indie musicians more opportunities to connect with fans and keep creating music, a great deal for musicians and fans alike.