Sometimes the best marketing tool is just talking to people.
Pandora Artist Audio Messages let artists speak directly to listeners while they are already hearing their music.
An Artist Audio Message (AAM) is a short recorded message from the artist that can play when someone starts the artist’s station or before or after the artist’s music on Pandora.
They are free, personal and much more interesting than another graphic telling people your song is out now.
What is Pandora AMP?
Pandora AMP, short for Artist Marketing Platform, is Pandora’s free collection of promotional and audience tools for artists and their teams.
If you have music on Pandora but have not claimed your AMP profile yet, start with our guide to claiming your Pandora AMP account.
Artist Audio Messages now live within Pandora’s Fan Campaigns. A Fan Campaign can combine different AMP tools, including Artist Audio Messages and Featured Tracks, around new music, shows or other promotional moments.
What can an Artist Audio Message do?
Artist Audio Messages can be promotional, but Pandora does not want them to sound like advertisements.
Think of them more like the old radio liners where an artist suddenly shows up between songs and talks directly to the listener.
You can use a message to:
- introduce a new song or album
- tell the story behind a track
- thank fans for listening
- promote an upcoming show
- encourage listeners to give a song a Thumbs Up
- send listeners to tickets, your website or another useful destination
The goal is to sound like yourself.
You have less than 15 seconds. There is not enough time to become somebody else anyway.
Keep it under 15 seconds
Pandora requires Artist Audio Messages to be shorter than 15 seconds.
That sounds restrictive until you actually hear a good one.
You usually only need three things:
- Say who you are.
- Say what you want the listener to know.
- Give them one clear next step if you need one.
Pandora also requires every Artist Audio Message to mention Pandora.
For example:
“Hey, this is Erin Example. Thanks for listening on Pandora. You’re about to hear my new single, ‘Example Song.’ If you like it, give it a Thumbs Up.”
Simple wins.
Talk to one person
Pandora specifically recommends recording the message as though you are talking directly to one fan.
That changes the way it sounds.
“HEY EVERYBODY! WE ARE SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE…” sounds like an advertisement before you finish the sentence.
Instead, speak naturally. Tell the listener something useful or interesting and get out of the way.
You do not need your radio voice.
You need your voice.
Record clean audio
The artist needs to record the message themselves.
Pandora does not allow music beds behind the voice, so keep the recording simple and clean.
Avoid:
- background noise
- room echo
- distorted audio
- long silences
- choppy edits
Pandora currently accepts WAV, AIF, MP3 and MP4 audio files.
You do not need an expensive studio setup. A clean recording in a quiet room is much more useful than an elaborate recording with terrible sound.
Choose where the message plays
An Artist Audio Message does not have to be tied to one specific song.
By default, Pandora can play the message when someone starts your artist station or before or after your music on another station.
However, you can also connect the message to a particular track.
That is useful when the message only makes sense with that song.
For example, if you recorded a message explaining the story behind your new single, you probably want people to hear it near that single instead of randomly six songs later.
Add a call-to-action when it makes sense
A call-to-action (CTA) is the specific thing you want the listener to do after hearing the message.
Pandora lets you add a button to some Artist Audio Messages.
Depending on the campaign, that could send someone to:
- buy tickets
- visit an artist website
- learn more about a release
- take another relevant action
Pandora does not allow Artist Audio Messages to link directly to competing music services such as Spotify or Apple Music.
However, bundled smart links that include Pandora can be allowed.
If the message includes a button, make sure what you say matches where the button actually goes.
Target a specific market when you need to
Artist Audio Messages normally run across U.S. markets, but Pandora also lets artists limit a message geographically.
You can currently target up to five designated market areas (DMAs), geographic media markets centered around major U.S. cities.
That makes sense when the message is only useful in certain places.
If you are playing Nashville next week, listeners in Seattle probably do not need to hear you invite them to the show.
Pandora also has a dedicated Promote Show tool that handles event targeting and ticket links. Our guide to promoting a show on Pandora explains that workflow.
Give Pandora time to approve it
Artist Audio Messages go through an approval process before they begin playing.
Pandora currently recommends allowing at least four days for approval before your desired start date.
Messages can generally run for as long as one year. However, messages promoting new music or a new single can run for no more than three months.
That is another reason not to wait until the morning of release day to start building the campaign.
How to create an Artist Audio Message
Inside Pandora AMP:
- Click the blue plus button.
- Select Fan Campaign.
- Choose Create Audio Message.
- Upload your audio file.
- Choose when the message should run.
- Attach a specific song if needed.
- Add a call-to-action button if appropriate.
- Choose geographic targeting if needed.
- Review the campaign.
- Click Submit Campaign.
You can also save the campaign as a draft and come back to it later.
Combine messages with Featured Tracks
Artist Audio Messages can also work alongside Pandora Featured Tracks.
A Featured Track is an eligible song that Pandora gives increased exposure within its radio system for a limited period.
Pandora’s Promote Single campaign combines a Featured Track with an Artist Audio Message, giving listeners both extra exposure to the song and a personal introduction from the artist.
Our guide to Pandora Featured Tracks explains how that part works.
Watch the results
Pandora refreshed its Fan Campaign reporting in 2026.
Artist Audio Message reporting can now show information such as:
- unique listeners
- radio spins
- social listeners
- link visits when the message includes a CTA
You can also compare campaign performance over time and download the data.
So pay attention.
If one kind of message consistently gets a stronger response, remember that the next time you record one.
Use the part nobody else has
Fans can already read your biography, see the artwork and listen to the song.
An Artist Audio Message gives them something those things cannot.
You.
Tell them why the song matters. Thank them for listening. Invite them to the show. Give them a little piece of the story they would not get otherwise.
Then let the music play.
