Youtube got big on free user-provided content. Later, after they had millions of eyeballs, they found they had to add professional content as well, so they started paying for that.
Music differs from video in critical ways. Everyone makes videos all the time. I probably have several hundred hours of videos of my kids. (A few might be youtube-worthy.) Meanwhile, like most people, I have never made a single song recording, much less of an original song.
So, if you were going to set out to build a youtube empire for music, you'd do it in reverse. Start with the professional content. Once your user-base stabilizes, then expand into the fringe.
Music marches (inevitably, I believe) to its future where most music will be free. Some bands have tried MySpace pages and personal websites to find an audience, but they lack scale. Musicians are still looking for the right venue.
Pandora is uniquely positioned to become the big player in the middle. First, they are a leader in on-line music broadcasting. Second, one of their missions is to introduce its listeners to new music. They have the listener base, and the right listener base, to build on. That combination creates an entry barrier for would-be competition.
Allowing users to upload content fits in perfectly with their strengths. Pandora can continue to be the go-to site to hear your favorite music. And they'd become the go-to site get introduced to the newest music.
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