Last.fm
Last.fm Limited is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, either from Internet radio stations, or the user's computer or many portable music devices. This information is transferred ("scrobbled") to Last.fm's database either via the music player (including, among others, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Qobuz, MusicBee, SoundCloud, and Anghami) or via a plug-in installed into the user's music player. The data is then displayed on the user's profile page and compiled to create reference pages for individual artists.
Type of site | Online music database, music recommendation, events, statistics, social networking service |
|---|---|
| Available in | Multilingual (12) |
| Owner | Paramount Global |
| Created by | Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel, Michael Breidenbruecker, Thomas Willomitzer, Richard Jones |
| URL | last.fm |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Free, with optional subscription |
| Launched | 20 March 2002 |
| Current status | Active |
On 30 May 2007, it was acquired by CBS Corporation via its streaming division CBS Interactive, today a part of Paramount Global, for £140 million (US$280 million, equivalent to $382,600,000 in 2022).
The site formerly offered a radio streaming service, which was discontinued on 28 April 2014. The ability to access the large catalogue of music stored on the site was later removed entirely, replaced by links to YouTube and Spotify where available.