Listen while you work

Entrepreneur, Oct, 2003 by Nichole L. Torres

WHAT: An online music station for cubicle-dwellers to listen to at work

WHO: Joe Pezzillo of Music for Cubicles

WHERE: Boulder, Colorado

WHEN: Started in February 2003

JOE PEZZILLO HAS LONG HAD A PASSION for Internet radio. In fact, he had tried launching an Internet radio venture in 1996 but was unsuccessful due to the uncertainties of the media at the time--such as how to support it solely with ad revenue. Pezzillo took the lessons he learned from his experience into his new venture, Music for Cubicles (www. musicforcubicles.com), an Internet radio service for people to listen to at their desks.

Thanks to his experience, Pezzillo, 34, knew to launch this service with a different revenue model from day one--it's subscription-based rather than ad-based. "Subscription radio is advertising-free, and the market is currently proving that people are willing to pay for that," says Pezzillo, who hopes for 5,000 subscriptions by year-end.

Now that he's partnered with Real Networks, one of the most popular destinations on the Web, Pezzillo has been able to build traffic and awareness for his new brand. His first channel streams music that's easy to listen to, like classical and down-tempo electronica. He also hopes to add others as soon as he builds his subscriber base.