Last.fm Goes Independent After Breaking Up With Paramount Skydance (engadget.com)
(Thursday May 28, 2026 @11:00AM (BeauHD)
from the last-dot-f[reedo]m dept.)
- Reference: 0183433664
- News link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/05/28/0552205/lastfm-goes-independent-after-breaking-up-with-paramount-skydance
- Source link: https://www.engadget.com/2182644/lastfm-independent-company-cbs-paramount-skydance/
Last.fm [1]announced that it is [2]independent again after separating from Paramount Skydance , nearly two decades after CBS acquired the music-tracking service in 2007. The company says accounts, scrobbles, privacy settings, Pro subscriptions, and billing information will remain intact. Additional details are forthcoming. Engadget reports:
> "Today, Last.fm begins a new chapter as an independent company," the announcement reads. "Ownership has changed, but the product you use every day has not." It also said that it will keep its current team. Last.fm is a music website that can track what you listen to across platforms, apps and streaming services, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.Â
>
> [...] Last.fm started as an internet radio station in 2002, and it didn't get [3]scrobbling until a few years later when it merged with the original team that created the tracking process. It operated as an independent company until it was [4]acquired by CBS Interactive , which is now part of the merged Paramount Skydance Corporation, for $280 million in 2007. In 2014, it killed off its $3-a-month subscription radio service to focus on tracking your listening habits on other providers. The company promised to share more about what you can expect from the transition in the coming weeks, but everything will work on Last.fm "exactly as it did yesterday" for now.
[1] https://support.last.fm/t/last-fm-is-now-independent/118591
[2] https://www.engadget.com/2182644/lastfm-independent-company-cbs-paramount-skydance/
[3] https://www.businessinsider.com/reference/what-is-last-fm-scrobbling
[4] https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cbs-buys-lastfm-for-280-million-1323077/
> "Today, Last.fm begins a new chapter as an independent company," the announcement reads. "Ownership has changed, but the product you use every day has not." It also said that it will keep its current team. Last.fm is a music website that can track what you listen to across platforms, apps and streaming services, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.Â
>
> [...] Last.fm started as an internet radio station in 2002, and it didn't get [3]scrobbling until a few years later when it merged with the original team that created the tracking process. It operated as an independent company until it was [4]acquired by CBS Interactive , which is now part of the merged Paramount Skydance Corporation, for $280 million in 2007. In 2014, it killed off its $3-a-month subscription radio service to focus on tracking your listening habits on other providers. The company promised to share more about what you can expect from the transition in the coming weeks, but everything will work on Last.fm "exactly as it did yesterday" for now.
[1] https://support.last.fm/t/last-fm-is-now-independent/118591
[2] https://www.engadget.com/2182644/lastfm-independent-company-cbs-paramount-skydance/
[3] https://www.businessinsider.com/reference/what-is-last-fm-scrobbling
[4] https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cbs-buys-lastfm-for-280-million-1323077/
Old internet properties keep getting "revived" (Score:2)
by xack ( 5304745 )
And never as good as the original. Anyone who has used the Internet long enough has their own list of examples.
Re: (Score:2)
by Snotnose ( 212196 )
RIP Live365. I loved that site. Got the Lazarus treatment a few years back, nothing like the original.
Last FM != Soma FM (Score:4, Informative)
by pr0t0 ( 216378 )
After seeing this article, I thought I'd pop in and listen to some Groove Salad or Secret Agent radio. Whoops!
Re: (Score:2)
by dutt ( 738848 )
Groove Salad is great. Listening to it now and then when in the mood. Still going strong on Soma.fm
that still exists? (Score:2)
so TIL that still exists.
I still don't know why it exists, but ok.
Re:that still exists? (Score:4, Insightful)
I ditched 'em years back, probably when they got acquired, so just took a look to see what they were about. They've accepted that Spotify et al. are really where it's at, and now all they seem to do is track what you listen to on those platforms and then offer suggestions.
I suppose if you're listening to multiple platforms, then having all that history consolidated in one place could be useful, but otherwise, I wonder how their recommendations are going to be any better than Spotify's?
Back in the day, last.fm was pretty awesome though. I found a load of new music through listening to them, which back then resulted in me actually buying physical media. I suppose now, even if they found me something new, the best they/the industry could hope for would be that I bookmarked it or something for a couple of plays later on.