Why Atlanta’s A Key Part of Tech Company Pandora’s Expansion
The “Closer Look” team recently took a behind-the-scenes tour of Pandora’s office for a conversation about why the Atlanta market is the right fit for the company.
Candace Wheeler / WABE
Oakland-based music streaming platform Pandora has had an office in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station for the past 10 years, and, recently, the company announced plans to expand to another building in Midtown.
While many still point to locales like Silicon Valley for examples of a thriving tech culture, Shalya Fortè, Pandora’s director of sales for the southeast, said Atlanta has a major role in the industry. She was the first employee on the sales side for the company in the southeast and helped build its presence in the city.
“We’re letting people know that we’re here, letting them know about our efforts whether that’s expansion from an engineering standpoint to our focus on diversity and inclusion,” Fortè said. “We’re really letting everybody know our presence is here and that the tech scene is big and booming in Atlanta.”
Expanding the streaming service’s footprint in Atlanta isn’t just about the tech scene, Bryan Calhoun who works on the company’s industry relations team, said.
“It’s [Atlanta] not only a place where there’s great engineering talent but also it’s a great music scene,” Calhoun said. “I consider Atlanta to be the capital of the hip-hop universe, so it’s great to be here and have a presence here.”
The “Closer Look” team recently took a behind-the-scenes tour of Pandora’s office for a conversation about why the Atlanta market is the right fit for the company, its expansion plans, and how it differentiates itself from other streaming platforms.
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