Johnny Chiang is set to join Pandora in the newly-created role of senior director, country programming, on July 25. He will oversee programming for country music at Pandora, and will report to vp, programming Kevin Stapleford. Chiang will continue to be based in Houston.
“Words cannot adequately describe just how thrilled I am to be joining the incredible country team that Kevin Stapleford is assembling at Pandora,” said Chiang via a statement. “I want to thank Kevin and Steve Blatter for believing in me and what my experiences and skill sets can bring to the team.”
Chiang previously joined Red Street Records as vp, radio promotions and artist development in January, as the label’s owners, Dan Crockett and Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, announced the label’s country division.
Prior to his work with Red Street, Chiang spent 18 years at KKBQ in Houston. He was also the Cox Country Format leader. In 2016, Chiang was named by Billboard as the most influential country program director in America.
During his time at KKBQ, the station was named the Country Music Association’s major market station of the year three times (in 2014, 2016 and 2018), as well as the Academy of Country Music’s major market station of the year (2017) and won the Marconi four times (in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018).
Jen Danielson previously served as head of country programming for Pandora, joining the company in 2018. In April, Danielson joined Warner Music Nashville as senior director, streaming. Prior to her work at Pandora, Danielson spent 10 years at CMT, working in music programming and artist relations.
