The end of LastFM

[That 70s Guy]

A Journal of Musical ThingsAlan Cross' A Journal of Musical Things Music Blog



Last.Fm Becomes Streaming Music Service Casualty

The streaming music arena has become very crowded over the last couple of years which means it was only a matter of time before Darwin’s laws inevitably came into play. Early this month, Turntable.fm announced it was going away. Now Last.fm, one of the first streaming companies I ever heard about, is closing down its subscription service. It will cease to be April 28.

This will be most annoying to Canadians who used the service. Unlike its bigger brethren–Spotify, Pandora, Beats–Last.fm was accessible to Canadians. (Hey, kids! Come on over to Songza where I work!)

Here’s their statement:
Hi everyone,Today we have announced significant changes to Last.fm subscriptions. From the 28th of April 2014, our subscription radio streaming service will no longer be available. This means that traditional subscriber radio will no longer work on any platform or device.Over ten years, our goal has always been to allow people around the world to discover new music with as few limitations or restrictions as possible. However, the music landscape has changed considerably during that time and we’ve been forced to make some very difficult decisions surrounding our core products and services. In response we’ve chosen to focus on what we think Last.fm does best: scrobbling, music discovery, and recommendations.If you have an iOS device you can download the Scrobbler app and build Last.fm powered playlists from the music in your device’s library. Also, if you have speakers or a stereo that supports Bluetooth you can link your iOS device and fill the room with music. You’ll still be able to listen to all of your favourite stations on the new Last.fm Player, as well as listen to your favourite tracks with our recently launched on-demand playback feature via Spotify.

Hardware devices that currently scrobble, such as Sonos and Logitech Squeezebox, will continue to scrobble as long as the manufacturers support it. We continue to work on new ways to bring scrobbling to every corner of the music universe to make Last.fm your music home.

Last.fm subscribers are some of the most dedicated music fans out there and we are deeply grateful for your support over the years. We understand that many of you will not like this decision. If you would like to cancel your Last.fm subscription please follow the steps here or you can request a refund here.

Thank you again for your support.

Sincerely,
The Last.fm Team

 

[Musikwala]

I always ever only used it for scrobbling tracks from my iTunes or iPod. I hardly ever used the streaming radio feature. It is still sad news for dedicated users.

Man, back in 2006 I was using Last.fm like crazy! Memories... : )

 

[Taboo]

So from what I understand this will only affect those who heavily use the radio streaming. That's a major blow right there! Ahh well, as long as I can scrobble my music using iTunes and share music with friends I will be good.

btw, now you can paint your last.fm page to black in the settings. A feature hardcore last.fm users have been wanting since like forever

 

[Musikwala]

btw, now you can paint your last.fm page to black in the settings. A feature hardcore last.fm users have been wanting since like forever

Huh? I remember long back you could toggle the page colours between Red and Black. I'm talking like... at least 5 years back.

 

[Taboo]

Huh? I remember long back you could toggle the page colours between Red and Black. I'm talking like... at least 5 years back.

Ah yes. pardon me, I meant to say a feature users have been wanting back. Looks much better in black

 

[LG]

Another one bites the dust, goes with the territory nowadays things move faster than ever before and companies/apps we once thought would be around forever just fade away when something newer shinier comes along.

I never subscribed to Last FM myself, but do feel sympathy for folks that depended on it for their online music.

 

[rocknrollpestcontroll]

never used Last FM, though i have heard of it, sorry to hear it's no more
though i hope this doesnt happen to Grooveshark, it to is free music streaming, and i use it alot.

 

[Magic]

I joined last fm back when one of the members here started a CRF page on last fm. I never could get the hang of how to use it, or "scrobble", or even make playlists.

Anyway, it is sad to see this music giant begin to fold like that. Last fm was (and is) a good source for music information even if you didnt use the other features they offered. Hopefully, they wont fold up completely.

 

[Nololob]

Been using it for years, stopped since I got a new PC. It was becoming shoite gradually anyway.

 

[Lynch]

Used it a little bit yrs ago, but not much. There were other streaming services that I liked better so I didn't spend the time getting to know it.