Last.fm is the ultimate social music player, fueled by an ever-expanding community of listeners. Start using it right away, because the more you do, the better recommendations and playlists you'll get.
Last.fm was bought by CBS in 2007, but so far this has only been a positive change, providing more resources for R&D. The concept hasn't changed, and only continues to improve. On the website, you can now personalize your radio stations using bands you like as a starting point, and then see recommended music, videos, and concerts based on your tastes.
To track the music you listen to while you're not on the Last.fm site (which is probably most of the time), you need to use the Last.fm scrobbler. The scrobbler is a standalone desktop app and media player plugin that keeps track of what you listen to, and what you love/hate, and reports back to the Last.fm database for analysis. The more music you listen to (and Last.fm silently scrobbles), the more refined your "catalogue" becomes.
Like many other major social networks that boomed a couple years ago, Last.fm is going through an uncomfortable adjustment period where they are trying to hone in on steady streams of revenue. So far they are warding off the grim reaper, something Pandora came much closer to experiencing, and have remained ad-free in their content.
Thanks to an open API, Boxee and others (mobile phones, for example) are integrating Last.fm into their services, which frankly rocks. Let's just hope their scheme isn't to get all the world hooked and then start charging...
Last.fm Scrobbler information:
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| No strings attached **: | |
** No spyware, ads, nags, registration reminders, etc.
Other Internet Radio freeware to keep an eye on:
