CNet Takes A Look At the Rapid Rise of Pandora

[DudeAsInCool]

Pandora's music box inspires fans

SAN FRANCISCO--Tim Westergren could be thought of as a modern-day Santa Claus with a bag full of compact discs you've probably never heard of.

The founder of Pandora, a 7-month-old, so-called music-discovery engine, Westergren travels from town to town, sharing his time and story with fans who, because of his service, say they've rediscovered a love of newfound music.

From every town he visits--places like New Orleans; Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; and Biloxi, Miss.--he carries back to his Oakland, Calif., headquarters a bag full of CDs given to him by local taste makers. Songs on those CDs make it into the Internet-based radio of Pandora, which in seven short months has acquired 2.5 million registered listeners largely by word of mouth.

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