lastfm

How to Deal with Social Media 'Fatigue'

Adrian Chen · 08/11/11 03:21PM

It's a sad fact that you must join every single social network in existence or risk vanishing from the face of the earth. But this is leading to "digital fatigue" among social networkers. How to deal with this? We have the answer.

Napster shareholders demand $280 million valuation

Jackson West · 06/27/08 05:20PM

Napster is still trying to prove that it can sell MP3s, but for some Napster shareholders fighting a proxy battle to get representation on the board, they'd prefer the company was for sale, and at a premium price. Based on their SEC filing, shareholders are arguing that with the purchase of Last.fm by CBS for $280 million, Napster should be worth equally as much, if not more. The only reason it's not is because of a "lack of confidence in governance." They seem to be overlooking the fact that Last.fm doesn't have the brand name baggage but does have a lively community of users.

CBS finally figures out what to do with Last.fm

Mary Jane Irwin · 01/23/08 02:58PM

CBS has unearthed a novel idea for growing the U.S. audience of Last.fm, the U.K.-based music website cum social network it purchased last May. It's going to try promoting it. In the Stateside push, the network is offering free, streaming music from the four major music labels and a bevy of independent artists. The ad-supported network bills itself as "redesigning the online music economy": It will pay artists per play. That explains why it's agreed to all sorts of icky streaming restrictions, such as limiting songs to three plays per user. It's a mutually agreeable term where CBS doesn't end up pissing off the music industry, which provide the songs it plays on its many conventional radio stations, nor does the music industry end up slighting CBS, an important promotional partner. Lost in all the tradeoffs: The interests of the very listeners CBS hopes to attract.

Pirate Bay adds Last.fm widgets to torrents

Jordan Golson · 11/29/07 08:29PM

Swedish file sharing site Pirate Bay has added widgets from music recommendation site Last.fm to its system to give extra information about music shared on the site. Last.fm told The Register that while it does not endorse the Pirate Bay, it won't forbid them from using Last.fm widgets either. That wouldn't be "in the spirit" of its API — the specifications by which Last.fm allows other websites to incorporate its tools into their pages.