I'd like to see Pandora step up more to actively help and direct users to support the artists they listen to and love.
To do this, I would like to see 1. more focus on the Artist pages; 2. links to artist merchandise; 3. live show listings
1. More focus on the Artists page: This requires Pandora to up the social aspect of the system. We need to be able to easily share artists we like and allow others to see the list of artists we like. This means we can "follow" artists, share links to artists pages (not just songs and albums) and let other users see the artists we follow. I think something like an "I'm a Fan" feature would be cool. Selecting a button to become a Fan on an artist page means you want to see updates on shows, merch and releases for that artist. Also, let other users see our profiles on Artist pages where we've selected "I'm a Fan" - they see "Other Fans". From the "Other Fans" on the artist's page, users can click other user profiles and see what other artists we are fans of and explore, maybe even become "Fans" of more artists based on other users.
2. Links to merch: Artists, especially the smaller acts, need revenue, and they get that revenue from shows and merchandise (not so much from streaming). Pandora only exists if artists make music; artists can only make music if they make money; and so Pandora should do everything it can to help artists and fans connect - not just for users to consume artists' music, but to have the opportunity further support artists financially by purchasing merch (shirts, CDs, records, etc) and attending live shows. Back to the increased focus on the Artist page. It would be great to link to Merch pages or allow for purchase directly (like Bandcamp) of CDs, vinyls, shirts. Some artists have Patron sites - why not link to them? If I become a "Fan" of an artist, let me know when new Merch is available. Or if they album I just added to my collection can be purchased on vinyl, maybe I can set an option to be notified of that. There are lots of ways we can get more money into the pockets of our artists and Pandora can serve as a perfect link between its users and those means of supporting artists.
3. Live show listings: Currently, if I'm on an artist page, I can see if they have a live show coming up (maybe not for all artists), but I have to be on the artist page to see that. It would be good to see a listing of shows for artists I would interested in based on my music collection and those I'm a "Fan" of. That way I don't need to go to the Artist page to find out, I can just see a listing and get a link to purchase tickets. If this is available today, it is not obvious.
Pandora appears to be low in pay-per-play $ for artists compared to other services. Even if Pandora upped the amount it paid artists per play, it is still a struggle for many artists. Let's, as users, push Pandora to help us connect with the artists we love so we can show that love not just with more "likes" and "thumbs ups", but with actual money.
mod edit: changing title for clarity
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