Pandora Music

Pandora’s AMP mobile platform provides artists with a powerful tool to promote their music, but the process of featuring tracks was somewhat disconnected and difficult to navigate.

As part of a larger initiative to bring the artists’ experience to mobile, I was tasked with enhancing the experience for artists to feature tracks seamlessly through AMP mobile. This would allow artists to engage more effectively with Pandora’s self-service tools and reach new listeners with their music.

Artists lacked an intuitive, guided experience to feature tracks on Pandora’s AMP mobile platform. Despite the availability of the “Featured Tracks” tool, the process was cumbersome, especially for first-time users. The existing workflow didn’t provide adequate guidance for artists to understand when and how to feature their tracks, which led to confusion and missed opportunities for boosting their music.

Create a user-friendly flow that helps artists easily feature their tracks on the AMP mobile platform, ensuring a smooth and intuitive experience that encourages more frequent use of the feature.

I collaborated with a UX Research Intern to conduct in-depth competitive analysis and user research.

We evaluated how other music streaming platforms guided artists through similar promotional tools and identified best practices.

Additionally, we surveyed 5 AMP users to understand their pain points and needs, which helped us validate the most critical areas of improvement.

Through this research, we found that artists wanted a more streamlined experience with clear, guided steps on how to feature their tracks, as well as notifications on eligibility and deadlines.

After gathering insights, we started the design process by iterating on potential solutions.

I worked closely with a PM Intern to create a requirement document, which outlined the functional and user experience requirements for the new feature.

Based on this, I proposed a feature called “It’s Time”, which provided a simple, step-by-step process directly on the AMP dashboard for artists who met the necessary criteria to feature a track. The design focused on three key areas:

Artists would be notified if their track was eligible to be featured based on the established criteria, such as a track being spun at least 10 times per week.

The dashboard would display a sequence of steps for artists to follow, ensuring they understood the actions needed to feature a track.

Artists would receive notifications when the feature was active or when they needed to take action.

I also worked with the team to ensure that the new flow aligned with Pandora’s branding and platform guidelines. This involved multiple rounds of design iterations, incorporating feedback from stakeholders and the team.

The final design was handed over to the AMP mobile platform team for development. Based on initial feedback, artists would be able to feature tracks seamlessly through the new flow, and the design was expected to lead to a more intuitive user experience once live.

01Increased Engagement

The redesigned flow was expected to lead to a higher engagement rate for the “Featured Tracks” tool, as artists would better understand how to use the feature.

02User Satisfaction

Early feedback from surveys indicated that artists would find the new workflow much easier to navigate.

03Performance Metrics

When compared to a normal track on Pandora, a featured track typically shows significantly higher metrics.

• +32%more spins

  Artists saw a 32% increase in track plays when promoted through AMP campaigns.

• +41%more thumbs

  Promoted tracks received 41% more positive listener feedback, indicating stronger engagement.

• +59%more thumbs up

  Listeners were 59% more likely to give a thumbs up on featured tracks.

• +88%more seeds

  Listeners started 88% more stations (seeds) from featured tracks.