A (Modern) Musical Veteran Revisited

Having been around for quite some time already (if we’re talking ‘Web 2.0′ years), the noteworthy anomaly known as Last.fm is something special, and I figured now is the appropriate moment to spotlight it here on Profy.

Once an internet radio station that seemed to achieve cult status with nothing other than word of mouth, Last.fm was connected to its listeners, but its fans couldn’t connect with one another. Following a merger in 2005 with Audioscrobbler, the net-based radio service and recommendation system quickly evolved to what it is today: a socially-networked music hub.

The original mission is still very much in evidence in Last.fm’s freshest iteration, but with a massively expanded subscriber list, the system is all the more effective. The radio feature’s still there, and the two-level payment system (Free/$3) still differentiates the core user base from casual listeners, but its latest major update in July of 2006, hints openly that Last.fm is en route to hang up its ’subterranean’ label for good and join the mainstream.