 RAIN 9/8: Pandora projects to hit $40 million in revenues this year ·Sep 8, 12:52 PM CREDITS DECISION TO CONCENTRATE ON FREE, AD-SUPPORTED SERVICE FIRSTPandora reveals to the Wall Street Journal that it’s “on track this year for $40 million in revenue“ — and it credits its success to a decision to stick with a free, ad-supported business model instead of relying on premium subscription revenue right away.
The company had intended on basing its business on subscription fee revenue as early as 2005. But Jim Feuille, General Partner at investor Crosslink Capital, convinced Pandora to grow the company’s user base (a la MySpace) by offering a free service, with revenue generated by ads, and then later tap into that base after it was large enough and offer a premium service. Now, with 30 million registered users, Pandora is more aggressively pushing its subscription option. “It makes sense now to have a robust subscription offering,” Pandora founder Tim Westergren said. “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.” Read more in the Wall Street Journal here.
BEN FONG-TORRES: RADIO’S NET-BASED FUTURE IS HEREWriting for the San Francisco Chronicle, Ben Fong-Torres says, “Radio future has arrived, in the form of Internet, or online, or Wi-Fi radio.” He points out (a) the growing ease of access to streaming beyond the PC, including portable devices and low-cost wi-fi radios like C. Crane’s $160 device, and (b) compelling programming, not only from major broadcasters, but from unique services (Pandora, Slacker, Last.fm) and (of most interest to him) faraway broadcasters, from upstate and around the world. Read more from Ben Fong-Torres online here.share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
