Pandora raked revenues of more than $50 million in 2009, according to recent disclosures by founder Tim Westergren.  "We've been able to grow our audience to attract advertisers and do so without going bankrupt," Westergren told CNNMoney.com.

In September of last year, Westergren projected annualized revenues of $40 million, and just last month, Westergren noted that Pandora had reached profitability during the fourth quarter.  All of that is great news for Westergren, an entrepreneur battered by the rough seas of digital music streaming and licensing.  "We've gone out of business many times, so it definitely wasn't a smooth path, but we're starting to realize the benefits of scale."

Indeed, Pandora is now a household name - at least among music fans - and easily one of the front-runners in the space.  But licensing costs remain incredibly high, even with freshly-renegotiated rates.  Alongside the other numbers, Westergren pointed to a royalty overhead of $30 million during 2009.