Does Pandora IPO Mark the End of the New Tech Bubble?

By late Thursday Pandora became the latest in a series of Internet companies to have its stock go in to freefall shortly after its IPO.

The popular online radio company’s stock closed at $13.26 on its second day of trading, lower than the $16 offering price.

Pandora follows the recent initial public offerings from business networking leader LinkedIn. And while its stock has run into trouble, it hasn’t sunk the way that Pandora’s has. And the price drop has some questioning what will happen to  Groupon.

Critics point to a couple of reasons, the most glaring being that Pandora, based in Oakland, California, has nearly 90 million customers but doesn’t make a profit.

Others blame the hype surrounding Internet companies, the second so-called “tech bubble.” Pandora, while it is extremely popular, has its share of shortcomings.

Competitors for Pandora are all around, the most notable being Last.fm, and Slacker Radio, as well as other music services from Apple, Google, and the rest of the bigger corporations.

But so far none appear quite as fun as Turntable.fm, where users get to be DJs, open listening rooms, and collect fans. Get yourself an invite and check out the dance rooms!

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