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# Pandora Founder Speaks Out
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/pandora_founder/
- Published: 2006-05-02T06:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2006-05-02T06:05:00.000Z
- Description: On creating a broader industry and an artistic middle class: "…There’s a ‘sea of great music’ that never sees the light of day,’ outside of the 2-3% of artists that. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2006/05/pandora_founder.html]
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: Streaming, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:10

[![Tim_westergren_newer150w](https://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/images/tim_westergren_newer150w.jpg "Tim_westergren_newer150w")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/tim%5Fwestergren%5Fnewer150w.jpg?ref=hypebot.com)

On creating a broader industry and an artistic middle class:

 "…There’s a ‘sea of great music’ that never sees the light of day,’ outside of the 2-3% of artists that drive music industry sales. Tim Westergren of [Pandora.com](http://pandora.com/?ref=hypebot.com) characterized this as a ‘huge loss of a revenue opportunity;’ the inefficiencies of the music business making it a ‘$100-billion industry in $10-billion clothes. It’s not my term, but I use it all the time: I think we can create a ‘musicians’ middle class’ where quality artists could make a decent living at it without the [](http://hypebot.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/pandora250w.gif?ref=hypebot.com) need to reach superstar status."

**On marketing in the internet age:**

 "…One thing we’ve learned: Print press really pales in comparison to [![Pandora250w_1](https://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/images/pandora250w_1.gif "Pandora250w_1")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/pandora250w%5F1.gif?ref=hypebot.com)the power of the online community. 

But to enjoy the "no-cost" benefits of word-of-mouth marketing, Westergren says you need to rely on people enjoying the real benefits and quality of your product.

The online community is not something you can ‘market to.’ You put your service out there, you do as good a job as you can with it, and you hope they fall in love with it, but you really have no control over this." ([RAIN](http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/050106/index.asp?ref=hypebot.com))