Responding to criticism over royalty rates and aggressive efforts to lower them further, Pandora has worked to forge better relations with artists and labels. After launching free analytics, they recently began experimenting with in-stream messaging and purchased music analytics provider Next Big Sound. Now, a veteran of D2F sales and marketing has joined Pandora as VP.
Topspin and Fluence c0-founder Shamal Ranasinghe has joined Pandora as VP of Product Management, Artists and Music Makers. His focus will be on building products and services for artists and the music community.
Improving The Welfare Of Artists
"My career has been committed to building products and services for the creative community, so I’m super excited to join Pandora as a VP of Product to continue on that mission," wrote Ranasinghe, referring in part to his work at direct to fan platform Topspin. "I’ll be working with some great people on building a better bridge between the music makers and Pandora’s massive base of music fans. We have a chance to significantly move the needle to improve the welfare of artists, while strengthening the connection to their fans."
Fluence
In recent months, Ranasinghe has been building and growing Fluence, a platform that connects musicians and other creatives with influencers in their field. He still lists active involvement in Fluence on LinkedIn alongside the Pandora appointment. We've reached out to learn more about his plans for the startup.