cichlisuite Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 you've probably already heard, here's what I got on my email: » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... « Today we’re announcing an upcoming change to the way Last.fm Radio works in some parts of the world. In the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, nothing will change. In all other countries, listening to Last.fm Radio will soon require a subscription of €3.00 per month. There will be a 30 track free trial, and we hope this will convince people to subscribe and keep listening to the radio. Everything else on Last.fm (scrobbling, recommendations, charts, biographies, events, videos etc.) will remain free in all countries, like it is now. Since we streamed our first track from Last.fm back in 2002, we have focused on playing the right songs to the right people, compensating artists for playing their music, and being the best music site on the web. We appreciate the support we get from the 30 million people who use Last.fm every month – double the number of people since this time last year. We work with over 280,000 labels and artists, many of whom we pay directly, and have built up the largest catalogue of any web radio platform: over 7 million tracks are available on Last.fm Radio stations. In order to keep providing the best radio service on the web, we need to ask our listeners from countries other than USA, UK and Germany to subscribe for €3.00 per month. In return you’ll get unlimited access to Last.fm Radio, and a promise that we’ll be hard at work improving the service for years to come. Q&A for users outside the US, UK or Germany Q. When does this go into effect? A: We are currently planning to switch to subscription radio outside the US, UK, and Germany on Monday, March 30. Q. How much will Last.fm Radio cost? A: €3.00 per month Q. What happens if I’m already a subscriber, or I buy a subscription before March 30th? A. Your subscription will continue to be valid and automatically gain Last.fm Radio functionality after the switch. Existing subscribers don’t need to change anything. Q. Does this affect listening to previews or full length tracks? A. No. Q. How can I pay for my subscription? A. Currently subscriptions are only available through PayPal, but always we’re always working on improving our service, including payment methods and are looking into offering additional payment methods in the future. Q&A for users in the US, UK or Germany Q. Will I be affected by the changes to Last.fm Radio? A. No! Q. Why is the price of subscriptions going up? A. The costs of streaming premium radio stations like music you’ve loved or tagged has also increased over the last few years. This is the first time we’re increasing the price of subscriptions in seven years. Q. Is this a new subscription package? A: No, this is the same product as our current subscription, with a small price adjustment. Subscriptions purchased now or anytime before the 30th will be continue to be valid. Existing subscribers won’t need to re-subscribe or change anything. Q. I’m already a subscriber, when do I have to start paying the new price? A. Next time you renew or buy a subscription after March 30th. Q. What about the 3 track play limit for full-length tracks? Will Last.fm be introducing a subscription model for unlimited listening? A. Stay tuned for more announcements on this. We’re always working hard to improve the service. I say fuck that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zaphod Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 i've never understood the point of this...so i get to see what i've been listening to? why would i care? what could be more boring than tallying how many times i've listened to an autechre song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcock Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 i couldnt care less about the counting tracks but its an amazing way to find new music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest beatfanatic Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I never listened to the radio anyway so it doesnt bother me. I never understood why anyone would subscribe to last.fm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrx Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I didn't even know that they had a radio station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Super lurker ultra V12 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 lol cbs lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benedict Cumberbatch Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 lately i've been using seeqpod and pandora. both goo but with limitations. never used last.fm as a radio station though, might give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlisuite Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 I never listened to the radio anyway so it doesnt bother me. I never understood why anyone would subscribe to last.fm i use it quite a lot at my work now. it's good because i don't carry my mp3 disks with me. i leave it tuned in 24/7 and then just put on my headphones when i feel like. also, when something nice comes up, i can see the artist and the album. i think Deezer is having a slightly better concept, but for one reason it is impossible to play some albums (even if i'm logged in). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berk Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 i couldnt care less about the counting tracks but its an amazing way to find new music. That and it's a convenient way to have the music you like anywhere. I'm not gonna lug my 400 gig Seagate drive to work or school but as long as I have an internet connection and a soundcard where I go, I can listen to good tunes. Plus, it's fun to find your WATMM buddies and call them "fags" and invite them to dock in their Shoutbox for everyone to see. truth yeah shit's fucked up, it's a shame they're gonna charge money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoon Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 that's really sad news. i rarely (like twice a year) listen to last.fm radio, but it still sucks. last.fm has always been there for free, but it looks like they'll be charging for even more stuff in the future. i've been with them from day one (audioscrobbler), so this really saddens me. i've been a subscriber now and then, but now i definitely won't be anymore. i won't support this crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benedict Cumberbatch Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 *whinge* pandora just started putting little audio adverts in between tracks. first time i heard one was today and in 3 hours listening its the only ad i heard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glass Plate Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 only 7 million? i have like 9 million on my own. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boo Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 damn. at least make everyone pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perunamuusi Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 does anybody here use spottify? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inteeliguntdesign Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 i subscribed to last.fm when i was abroad and didn't have my usb drive disk full of music. it was pretty great to have my music collection with me. and even now i listen to my library's "station" because i can be rarely arsed to plug my usb drive disk in and attempt to find things i want to listen to. essentially i only use last.fm because i'm too lazy to sort my music collection and plug in my usb drive. i don't think i've ever found anything new through last.fm. sometimes i hear tracks and think, shit, what was that? (i have no idea why those tracks appear in my library's station - i don't own them), but i rarely look them up strangely. lazy, i guess. i've found out about more new music from reading about music on here. looking at my weekly stats was addictive for quite a while. i doubt i'd pay to listen to my radio station. i'd just use youtube instead probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tidbit Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 i quit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chax Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I never listened to the radio anyway so it doesnt bother me. I never understood why anyone would subscribe to last.fm i use it quite a lot at my work now. it's good because i don't carry my mp3 disks with me. i leave it tuned in 24/7 and then just put on my headphones when i feel like. also, when something nice comes up, i can see the artist and the album. i think Deezer is having a slightly better concept, but for one reason it is impossible to play some albums (even if i'm logged in). if you want some awesome and free online idm radio, check out limbik frequencies and cliqhop on soma.fm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autopilot Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 or Radio's Dead :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lala Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 lol cbs lol i stopped listening it to is because of all the italo/80's stuff. does anybody here use spottify? eddie does. he likes it, although not much underground-er stuff yet. lots of billy idol though, so he's happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamovich Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 last.fm beta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest melotronic Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 does anybody here use spottify? yeah... it's cool enough, nice setup and ideas behind it but for me it's just not got enough material from the more underground artists. maybe with a few months growth it'll seem better, i definitely like the idea and am impressed by some of the rarer songs you can find on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pylonbitch Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 i'd fucking love to see their model as regards recompense to the actual artists. this is bullshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcock Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I didn't even know that they had a radio station. last.fm radio just means that you can type one of your favourite artists in and it will play certain authorised full tracks from most artists based on being music that alot of other people that also like the favourite artist you have put in like. convoluted drunk grammar but cba. ive found roughly half the music that i love from last.fm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pilcat Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 i must say im a big fan of the service and the radio. whenever i hear about new music, i look it up there and check out a few tunes before downloading. i like the "recommended" radio a lot too, i've found some good stuff that way. plus i like seeing my playcounts and shit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoon Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 you guys think we can do anything about this? is there a discussion going on about this somewhere? i think this is going to be the end of last.fm and i don't want that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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