Pandora -- "Show Me the Money!" -- I Want to Believe!

Online music streaming service Pandora is a TechCrunch darling -- featured once again today amidst the news that the service just crossed the threshold of 60 million registered users. That certainly is a great feat -- and it is to be congratulated (although, let's not forget that "registered" users is not the same thing as "active" users -- there is a world of difference -- signing up to use a service is not the same thing as actually using that service).

And, let's further not forget that sheer growth in registered users does not a viable business model make -- and, despite TechCrunch's persistent plaudits for purported profitability, I have yet to see any real revenue and operational numbers that lend credence to that claim. In fact, online music pioneer Michael Robertson recently conducted his own financial analysis of Pandora and concluded that the company was not profitable -- in a word, he debunked.

As I have written several times before, I too have serious doubts that Pandora is profitable -- i.e., that its business model works.

To be clear, this does not mean that I don't want it to. As I always write, I like Pandora. I follow the company closely for a variety of reasons: (1) I am one of the few paying subscriber (the vast majority of users stream music for free in an ad supported model); and (2) I simply respect online music services that "work" and previously served as President & COO of online music pioneer Musicmatch (which was acquired in 2004). But, I still don't see much of a difference between Pandora and a plethora of other providers.

Bottom line -- "Pandora, show me your bottom line! Show me the money! I want to believe. But, I ain't George Michael, I gotta have more than Faith!"