Pandora just launched a feature that lets musicians send people personalised messages

Pandora wants all your favourite musicians to send you personalised messages. The music streaming service announced a pilot of a new feature at the Code/Media conference on Wednesday, Re/Code reports.

It's called "Artist Audio Messaging" and simply allows musicians to send fans updates and snippets through Pandora's online streaming. Currently, only a handful of acts are involved - though big names such as Lenny Kravitz is already on board. The idea is to roll out the service to more performers.

Pandora founder Tim Westergren explained at the conference that musicians will be able to announce new tours, albums, and even context on particular songs through the service, Re/Code says. It lets artists target their audience through a new medium, while giving the public something extra to simply streaming the latest tunes.

It looks as though Pandora is really serious about the idea. Westergren said "it's the beginning of a much longer roadmap" and it comes as the company looks to forge new links and offer more sophisticated ways for artists to connect with listeners and make the most of online streaming. Pandora launched an analytics tool for artists back in October, which lets musicians see where audience members are from and what songs they like most.

The messaging add-on is a bold move from Pandora. In an industry where it has to compete with the likes of Apple and Spotify, companies are having to evolve past basic audio streaming to keep up. Spotify recently partnered with Uber to deliver a ride and listen service.