LAST.FM: WHY I HAVE FINALLY FALLEN FOR IT..!

lastfm, originally uploaded by garybembridge.

I am going to do a series of postings about sites and tools that I visit and use almost daily, as a way of exploring what seem to be things that have “clicked” and work online. And why I think that is the case.

Often I have found, as a bit of a geek, that I rush off an try out any hot new site or tool that comes along. So it was years ago that I first heard about the hot music site LAST.FM. So I duly signed up, and after a very short time lost interest as I really could not see the point as although I could let it know my current tastes and library I had that on my iPod and in iTunes. I could use those to play on the go or via my computer. So just did not get it and drifted away.

I went back to LAST.FM when they got bought for some zillions of dollars by CBS as it struck me that I must have missed the point again if someone big and fairly conservative like that bought them for mega bucks that there must be more to it. I came away still confused about what the hell all the fuss was about. I tried the recommendations they gave but they seems to em to be small obscure bands that were not that exciting.

I have recently come back to LAST,FM. This time it was sparked for a TV ad I saw for the iPhone. On it they feature as one of the applications a LAST.FM free application. I have an iPod Touch where the applications work when on wireless and so downloaded it.

I am now hooked to LAST.FM and love it. But I realised that the reason that I love it and got hooked is that they have found a way to integrate it much more into what I do generally online and off line, so it takes into account everything I do and adds value to it. And it is easy to integrate and use as a result.

So now I can:
(1) scrobble/ update what I listen to from my iPod/ iTunes. So it is building a much better understanding of my tastes and likes, and so the recommendations are getting more interesting and better. It does not mean I have to incrementally invest a whole lot of time playing stuff on the site but it captures all my music listening easily and automatically.
(2) It does the same when I listen to it streamed on my iPod
(3) There are application and features that connect to my FACEBOOK and also MYBLOGLOG accounts where I do visit every day, and shares automatically my most listened to tracks. Artists and favourite songs. It shares and highlights them to my friends.

I am still not sure that they have got the recommendations game locked down, as you still feel there are marginal bands and artists being recommended – and that better music discovery is still something I hope to have.

Listen to my LAST.FM “station”: http://www.last.fm/user/bembridge

Saying though how much I am into it, I see that they are going to start trying to charge to stream music in some markets (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7963812.stm). I am not sure it is worth paying for.