Country Artist Kane Brown to kick off new Pandora virtual concert series (Photo by John ... [+]
Country music artist Kane Brown will kick off a new Pandora virtual concert series with a show on July 28. The series, slated to run through the end of the year, promises performances from artists across genres and an immersive experience not only for fans and musicians—but also for sponsoring brands.
“I love unexpected collaborations and finding new ways to bring my fans music, especially while we aren’t able to tour on the road,” said Kane Brown. “You all mean so much to me and I’m happy to team up with Pandora to create an amazing virtual performance with some surprises for you.”
Select attendees will receive access to virtual meet and greets, artist Q&As, exclusive merch, live chat functionality, and other interactions. Brands will receive an elevated connection with at-home viewers aimed at complementing their experience. Given the historically uneven connectedness of brand sponsorship in the live touring environment, the model holds promise for deeper immersion in the virtual ecosystem.
For the July 28 show, for example, Persil Proclean laundry detergent will be gifting audience members an exclusive Kane Brown T-shirt that fans can redeem through a branded code on the artist’s website that also activates delivery of a product sample.
Men’s grooming company Cremo will give listeners “backstage access” by sponsoring Brown’s Pandora Story, and Kingsford grilling fuels will send recipes for at-home grilling ahead of the performance so fans can pregame around a meal before the show.
“People are still as passionate about live entertainment as ever… Our role is to give entertainers a platform to reach their fans in new and meaningful ways while filling the void for listeners who want to connect with each other and the artists they love,” says Denise Karkos, CMO at SiriusXM and Pandora. “We’re placing advertisers at key consumer touch points before, during, and after the events to enable these special connections.”
Brown’s performance, powered by Maestro, will be hosted by Storme Warren of The Highway channel on SiriusXM. Restless Road, the Nashville-based trio Brown recently signed to his record label, will make an appearance for a first-time live performance of the song “Take Me Home.”
The evening also will feature an animated short film, based on a real-life experience, narrated by Brown, and fans can expect cameo appearances from others in the entertainment industry.
Following their virtual performances, each participating artist is expected to record a Pandora Story featuring personal commentary woven between songs. Fans will also be able to tune in to the recordings of the virtual performances on Pandora, and select concerts will be rebroadcast on SiriusXM.
To further support artists, Pandora acquired merchandise that would have been sold on tour and customized it to create limited-edition fan giveaways. Select pieces will be available the night of the shows on a first-come, first-served basis.
