CBS Is Very Interested In Last.fm Users’ “Recently Played” Lists
According to a post on the site’s official blog, CBS has acquired music-networking site Last.fm, which tracks its 20 million users’ recently played music files, then links the listening patterns that emerge to other artists and other people. Billboard is reporting that the purchase price is rumored to be $280 million–a far cry from the $450 million-ish price tag that MTV parent Viacom was planning to slap on the service, and a little more than half of the $580 million sum Fox paid for MySpace. Last.fm’s founders are assuring their users that “the openness of our platform and our approach to privacy won’t change”; if the post-Fox MySpace is any indication, though, Last.fm’s users should start dreading the inevitable day when an overly quippy Who fan tries to friend them.
Last.fm Acquired By CBS [blog.last.fm] CBS To Buy Last.fm? [Billboard.biz] Earlier: Idolator’s Instantly Outdated Guide To Internet Music: Spying On Your Friends With Last.fm
