Last.fm announced today that it is going to shut down its subscription streaming radio service come April 28th. The service is available in the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia and Ireland. In some countries it was also offered through a freemium ad-supported model, subscription for an ad-free listening experience cost $3. Those who have subscribed can now claim a refund from Last.fm, as it is no longer going to offer radio streaming.
After getting rid of the streaming service, Last.fm is going to get down to basics. Its going to focus on the scrobbling experience, which is its core feature. What its core feature essentially does is create a music profile using song names that the user plays. Based on that Last.fm makes recommendations. Initially users had to install a plugin on their computers for scrobbling to work, now they can simply link their Last.fm with Spotify, Sonos, Squeebox and a few other services. Last.fm has already released a standalone Scrobbler app for iOS.
Last.fm failed to compete against its rivals even though it was acquired by CBS back in 2007 for $280 million. Actually since the acquisition it has sort of faded into the dark, with rival services such as Pandora skyrocketing in popularity.
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