[via NY Times] How does an internet radio station that was at death’s door for almost 10 years (in part, due to the tedious task of finding investors and royalty battles with record labels) punch through the music industry’s walls to end up succeeding with the potential to go public? Seems like a relevant question for almost anyone trying to start something up in the world of online music, with many being relegated to the graveyard. For answers, it appears we need to look no further than the founder of Tim Westergren of Pandora.

Much of Pandora’s recent resuscitation has come in the form of a very successful iPhone app. At the end of last year, they reported their first profitable quarter. And they’re now getting interest from investment bankers who are predicting the company could go public. Pandora’s aim going forward? To attain deals with makers of cars, televisions, and stereos, prospecting to make the internet radio station as universal as terrestrial radio, ahem, was. It seems their recent success is due in large part to nothing revolutionary, but sheer persistence; from years of not being able to pay their employees to weathering the dot-com bust, they’ve endured through it all.

The New York Times reports:

“In January, Pandora announced a deal with Ford to include Pandora in its voice-activated Sync system, so drivers will be able to say, “Launch my Lady Gaga station” to play their personalized station based on the music of that performer. Consumer electronics companies like Samsung, Vizio, and Sonos are also are also integrating Pandora into their Blue-ray players, TVs, and music systems.”

Joe Kennedy, the new chief executive of Pandora (he spent time building consumer products for E-Loan and Saturn), says this:

“Think about what made AM/FM radio so accessible… You get into the car or buy a clock for your nightstand and push a button and radio comes out. That’s what we’re hoping to match.”

Old ideas re-imagined for the modern day consumer and a big dose of good ol’ perseverance. It seems almost an antiquated notion, but in all honesty, these themes certainly come off more sound and respectable than most others these days.

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