CBS has bought music recommendation website Last.fm for $280 million, the extremely popular London-based company that lets users search for and listen to music based on their past preferences and recommendations of other users.
Detail:http://venturebeat.com/2007/05/30/cbs-buys-music-recommendation-service-lastfm-for-280m/
May 10, 2007
News:Last.fm Adds Video,Wants to Become the Web's MTV !
Users will be able to create personalized video channels based on their music preferences much the same way they currently do with their radio stations.
Initial video content will come from independent labels such as Ninja Tune, Nettwerk Music Group, Domino, Warp Atlantic and Mute. Featured artists from the labels will include the Artic Monkeys, Moby and Aphex Twin.
Last.fm has also struck deals with major labels like EMI and Warner as well as 20,000 independent labels. The company is currently in talks with two other big labels, Universal and Sony Music Group.
With their partnerships the company says," Last.fm will soon be able to offer its users personalized channels from the largest legal catalogue of music videos on the web."
Detail:http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/05/09/last-fm-adds-videoMay 2, 2007
News:Last.fm and Channel 4 Radio to create global chart show
ndependent internet music station Last.fm and Channel 4 Radio have partnered to create a global music chart show.
The Worldwide Chart will showcase the top tracks from Last.fm’s European, Asian and US charts. The station currently has 20m active users from over 232 countries and is available in 11 languages.
Channel 4 Radio DJs will also begin ‘scrobbling’ their playlists, allowing Last.fm users to track and share their selected music.
News:Pandora shuts box on users outside US
Pandora.com, the popular net radio station that helps users discover new music and build custom playlists, will block most people outside the US from accessing its service because of legal pressure being exerted by record labels.
Launched in 2005, Pandora has always billed itself as a service for US listeners only, but until now it never enforced that policy. Beginning Thursday, people accessing Pandora from most IP addresses originating outside the US will be prevented from accessing streaming services.
"It's devastating for us to have to do that," Pandora founder Tim Westergren told The Register. "We're terribly disappointed and frustrated, but the existing law right now is such that we can't legally," stream to most users outside the US.
Detail:http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/03/pandora_block/Apr 26, 2007
Interview with Pandora Founder, Tim Westergren
Interview with Pandora Founder, Tim Westergren
What are the details of this recent ruling?
The foundation of the ruling was set about five years ago, when the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) was amended. Among other things, language was inserted into the bill as the legal framework for determining the rates for Internet radio. It's different from the language that governs both terrestrial radio and satellite radio. It's different and unequal, by a standard that's called, "willing buyer, willing seller." It puts Internet radio at a significant disadvantage, compared with satellite and terrestrial radio, for reasons that really I think have to do with some of the lobbying power of the record industry, and the what was back then an almost non-existent Internet radio industry.
It doesn't seem surprising that there there's a line being drawn between Internet and terrestrial radios, but it's a bit more interesting that this kind of line is being drawn between Internet and satellite radios.
Yeah, although it kind of depends on your perspective on it. In terms of the kind of benefits and impact that Internet radio has, it's just like terrestrial. It's a promotional mechanism—in terms of promotions, it's actual more immediate, because you can click to buy stuff. I think there's a good argument to be made that it should be treated the same way. I think the consequence of this language is that it makes Internet radio uneconomic. It's just not possible to deliver a business at those rates. And at Pandora, we have 15 full-time sales people cranking on this thing, and with all that we could muster, we could make it work on the old rates, but these new rates make it impossible.
News: Viacom in Talks to Acquire Last.fm for $450 Million
London - Viacom is currently in talks to acquire London-based online social music network Last.fm for a rumored purchase price of $450 million, DealBreaker.com reported, citing "a music business source familiar with the negotiations."
Apr 25, 2007
Last.fm adds 800,000 tracks to online offering
| All 800,000 tracks in IODA's catalogue will now be available for free on-demand streaming and download on Last.fm. Last.fm, a London-based online social music networking site and intelligent music recommendation engine, has inked a licensing and promotional partnership deal with digital distributor Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA). Under the agreement, IODA's IODA's full catalogue of 800,000 tracks will be available as part of Last.fm's customizable radio service, while IODA's library of over 24,000 pre-cleared PromoTracks will be available for free on-demand streaming and download beginning 1 May. Detail:http://www.digitalmediaasia.com/default.asp?ArticleID=23724 |
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