This glossary explains the key tools and terms inside Pandora AMP (Artist Marketing Platform). It is written for artists, managers, and labels who want to do more than claim a profile and hope for spins.
Pandora AMP basics
Pandora AMP
Pandora’s free Artist Marketing Platform for creators. It lets you see analytics, manage your artist profile, and run promotion tools such as Featured Tracks and Artist Audio Messages. If you have music on Pandora, AMP is where you actually work with it.
Artist Profile
Your artist page on Pandora. Through AMP you can update images, bios, and social links, and you can pin important content so new listeners meet the version of you that matches your current campaign.
Stations and Modes
Pandora is built around personalized stations, not just playlists. A listener can create a station from an artist, song, or genre, and Pandora’s algorithms do the rest. Some stations also include Modes that let listeners lean into different flavors, such as deep cuts or new releases. AMP tools help you influence how often tracks show up in those environments.
Core Pandora analytics
Spins
Total plays of your tracks on Pandora, including radio-style stations and on-demand listening where available. Spins are the basic volume metric. Trend them by track, album, or time period to see what is really working.
Listeners
Unique people who heard at least one of your tracks in the selected period. Use this to understand reach. If Spins grow faster than Listeners, it usually means existing fans are listening more often rather than lots of new people joining.
Station Adds
The number of times listeners created or added a station based on your artist or a specific track. Station Adds are a strong intent signal and often lead to long-term, passive listening.
Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down
Pandora’s rating system. Thumbs Up tells the algorithm "play more songs like this." Thumbs Down tells it "do not play this again on this station." A healthy Thumbs Up to Thumbs Down ratio means the music fits the audience that is hearing it.
Listener Hours
Total hours people spent listening to your music on Pandora. Helpful for understanding depth of engagement beyond raw Spins.
Audience Map
Geographic heat map showing where your listeners and Spins are concentrated. Use it the same way you would use location data from other platforms: to inform touring, targeting, and partner conversations.
AMP Insights and reports
Insights Tab
The main analytics view in AMP. It gathers high-level data such as total Spins, listeners, top tracks, collaborations, programming placements, audience map, and key trends. It is the right place to answer questions like, "Which song did Pandora lean on the hardest this quarter?"
Programming Placements
A view inside Insights that shows where Pandora programmers and algorithms are placing your music: branded genre stations, mood stations, and other editorial or algorithmic destinations. Strong placements here often explain why a track feels "everywhere" on the service.
Top Tracks and Collaborations
Ranked lists of songs and collaborations by Spins and other metrics. Use them to decide which features to highlight in bios, ads, and cross-platform campaigns.
Promotion tools inside Pandora AMP
Artist Audio Messages (AAM)
Short voice messages you record that play before or after your songs. You can use them to explain a track, announce a tour, push a pre-save or merch item, or tell listeners where to follow you next. Many formats let you attach a clickable link so fans can tap straight into the action.
AMPcast
A lighter, mobile-first way to record Artist Audio Messages directly from your phone and push them out quickly. Ideal for timely updates such as surprise releases, show announcements, or "thank you" messages when a song hits new milestones.
Featured Track
A campaign type where you choose one song to receive priority treatment for a limited window. Pandora’s systems increase the likelihood that the track appears in relevant stations for eligible listeners. Featured Track is powerful when you already see organic traction and want to lean into it rather than trying to rescue a song that is not connecting.
Promote Single and other combined campaigns
Newer AMP flows often bundle tools together, such as combining a Featured Track boost with an Artist Audio Message. The idea is simple: give listeners both more chances to hear the song and a clear story about why it matters now.
Pandora Stories
Playlist-style programs where you weave songs together with recorded spoken segments. Think of them as mini radio shows about an album, era, or theme. Stories work well for deep fans and can also be a useful asset to share off-platform.
Managing your presence
Profile and Cover Art
Through AMP you can keep your profile image, cover photo, and branding current. This matters more than most people think. A modern, consistent visual identity helps listeners connect the dots between Pandora, other streaming platforms, and your socials.
Bio and Links
Your bio is the first place many Pandora listeners learn who you are. Use it for a concise, story-driven overview and add links that route fans to your most important destinations such as an official site, mailing list, or tour page.
Spotlight Picks and Featured Content
AMP periodically offers extra surfaces such as Spotlight Picks on the artist profile. These let you pin key tracks, playlists, or Stories where new listeners will see them first.
How labels and teams can use Pandora AMP
Campaign Planning
Use Spins, Thumbs data, and Station Adds to decide which tracks deserve ads, remixes, or video support. If a song quietly dominates Pandora while underperforming elsewhere, it might be a good candidate for radio or catalog-focused campaigns.
Market Prioritization
Combine Insights’ audience map with your own touring and sales data to choose priority regions. Pandora is especially strong in the United States, so this view is useful when you are deciding which cities to hit next or where to spend incremental advertising budget.
Partner Reporting
Screenshots and exports from AMP help explain to managers, labels, and collaborators how Pandora fits into the bigger picture. Bring Featured Track impressions, Artist Audio Message delivery, and Listener Hours into the same decks as Spotify and Apple Music metrics so the channel does not get forgotten.
Useful distinctions for Pandora campaigns
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Spins vs Listener Hours Spins tell you how often tracks start. Listener Hours tell you how long people actually stay.
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Station Adds vs Thumbs Up Station Adds create long-term listening environments built around you. Thumbs Up teaches the algorithm to sprinkle your songs more often into existing stations.
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Featured Track vs Artist Audio Messages Featured Track pushes the song itself into more listening sessions. Artist Audio Messages give listeners a story and a call to action around that song.