Bud Sponsors 'Pandora Presents' Online Extras

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Pandora has expanded a live concert series that debuted earlier this month to include related online content sponsored by Budweiser.

The concert series launched in Portland, OR on December 13 with Dawes, an emerging rock band from Southern California. As the official launch sponsor, Budweiser presented the concert free of charge to more than 230 fans at Portland's Mississippi Studios.

The online hub for the concert series has behind-the-scenes video content, including interviews with the band and fans, Pandora Founder Tim Westergren interacting with the band, and highlights from the evening. The hub also features a curated mixtape with up to 100 songs selected by the band and Pandora music analysts.

Pandora says it determines the mix of artists and locations for the concert series from a collection of "spin" and "thumbs-up" data, or plays and likes. Invitations for this series are sent based on each listener's musical preferences on Pandora, such as stations they have created and songs they have thumbed-up.

To wit, Pandora says its data shows that Portland-area listeners are 25 percent more likely to enjoy a Dawes song and 30 percent more likely to create a Dawes station than listeners in any other U.S. city, hence the location of the initial concert.

A Pandora rep says there will be several more concerts in different cities around the country in 2012. All artists that participate in Pandora's live concert series will be showcased on the hub.

“Music is a universal passion that unites people, and Budweiser's ties to music run deep," said Rob McCarthy, VP of Budweiser, in a prepared statement. "We're excited to assist Pandora in bringing this unique concert series to life, and to connect their local listeners with bands they love."