WSJ: Pandora to Generate $40 Million in Revenue This Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 3, 2009 - 8:46am.

New York - Streaming radio service Pandora is on track to generate $40 million in revenue this year, which is double what the company saw a year ago, founder Tim Westergren told The Wall Street Journal.

It's unclear whether that will mean profitability for the company, which to date has raised some $64 million in venture capital financing.

Pandora, which counts 30 million users, offers a free, ad-supported version of its service, as well as an ad-free premium edition that costs $36 per year.

In addition, the company said it will start charging heavy users who listen for more than 40 hours per month a 99-cent fee.

"It makes sense now to have a robust subscription offering," Westergren told The Journal.

"We have a big user base now and people have an affinity for Pandora and understand its value. We would never have had this trajectory if we had stuck with a subscription service in the beginning.

"We had to push a pretty big boulder over a hill to get to scale, but I feel pretty confident we can get profitable now."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/rkv9b (WSJ)

http://www.pandora.com