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 hereand 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.
Shalya Fortè, Pandora’s director of sales for the southeast, and Bryan Calhoun, part of the company’s industry relations team, give a behind-the-scenes look at Pandora’s office in Atlanta. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
The design aesthetic for the Pandora offices is an open floorplan. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
Meeting room doors feature the names of musical acts with Georgia connections. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
An assortment of snacks are part of the “work perks” at Pandora, which is an important part of the company’s recruitment according to Shalya Forte, director of sale for the southeast at Pandora. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
Post-it notes, written by employees, highlight the contributions of women colleagues as part of a Women’s History Month celebration at the company. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
These balloons signify employees who are celebrating one year with the company. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
The design aesthetic for the Pandora offices is an open floorplan. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
A baby grand piano sits inside the Pandora office with the sheet music for “Georgia On My Mind” by Ray Charles. (Candace Wheeler/WABE)
