Last.fm, music labels launch free music on-demand

LAST.FM, MUSIC LABELS LAUNCH FREE MUSIC ON-DEMAND
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Last.fm, the social music network owned by CBS Corp, said on Wednesday it is introducing a free service for fans to listen to their favorite songs on-demand. The new service is being launched in partnership with the four major music companies, as well as over 150,000 labels and artists. When fans in the United States, Britain and Germany search for an artist on the Last.fm Web site, they can now stream the artist's song for nothing or pay to download an MP3 version of the song via Amazon.com. Last.fm said the streaming service is funded by advertising revenue, which is shared with the music companies. The move comes nearly six years after Last.fm first started reaching out to music companies to license songs to stream on its site.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2341167820080123

* CBS Betting Big on Last.fm
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6525011.html?rssid=193

* In the free music space, can CBS succeed where others have failed?
[Commentary] It's no secret: ad-supported streaming music, held up as an alternative to both paid downloads and free-for-all piracy, has hit some twists and snags. A number of well-funded start-ups, like SpiralFrog, dove into the space and few have emerged intact. Only one, Imeem, can really claim to be a success--it has licensing deals with all four major music labels--but it's still been criticized for a tepid user experience. So it was a bit of a surprise when CBS' big announcement about Last.fm, the music-based social network it purchased last year, was the launch of a free, ad-supported streaming music service.
http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9856582-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

* CBS to Make Internet Music Unit More Like Radio
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/business/media/24music.html?ref=todayspaper