Pandora announced that Lars Murray will serve as its new vice president of industry relations. Murray joins the company from Columbia Records, where he was vice president of digital media. He was responsible for the digital marketing operations behind recent successful albums such as Random Access Memories by Daft Punk, GIRL by Pharrell Williams, and Lazaretto by Jack White.
In the new position, which takes effect immediately, Murray will be tasked with leading Pandora’s strategic collaborations with other stakeholders in the music business. His connections and past experience working with artists could be a help in getting musicians to make the most of Pandora’s digital service.
The press release noted that Pandora is looking “to further leverage its scale and unique technology to create even more opportunity and value for artists, labels and the entire music ecosystem.” Murray’s specific set of skills in the digital universe and in the label environment could be a sign of how Pandora wants to interact with the production side of music.