Pandora is hugely property and one of the few music 2.0 companies that can claim profitability, but it appears to be a tenuous victory.  CEO Tim Westergren has said publicly that Pandora earned $50 million last  year, mostly from advertising. But even after a new deal was announced last year, royalty payments to SoundExchange were $28 million plus payments to publishers and operating costs.

Attracting even more users to drive more advertising appears to be Pandora's most direct path to long term success. 

Pandora is hugely property and one of the few music 2.0 companies that can claim profitability, but it appears to be a tenuous victory.  CEO Tim Westergren has said publicly that Pandora earned $50 million last  year, mostly from advertising. But even after a new deal was announced last year, royalty payments to SoundExchange were $28 million plus payments to publishers and operating costs.

Attracting even more users to drive more advertising appears to be Pandora's most direct path to long term success.