Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Last.fm To Start Charging International Users

Posted by timothy on from the hard-chargin' dept.

tdobson writes "The popular online radio service Last.fm has announced that users outside of the UK, USA and Germany will need to start paying 3 Euros (about $4.40 USD/£2.80 GBP) per month to continue streaming music on their service. Last.fm doesn't offer much of a reason as to the change, other than writing on their blog that '[t]here will be a 30 track free trial, and we hope this will convince people to subscribe and keep listening to the radio.' Already, there appears to be quite a backlash in responses so far, amongst subscribers and non-subscribers of all nationalities — has this killed Last.fm's appeal, globally?"

8 of 329 comments (clear)

  1. It was nice while it lasted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I love Last.fm
    I'm a regular listener and found many new interesting bands. Not only have I bought their albums, but also went to local concerts that I wouldn't have heard about otherwise.
    I will NEVER pay for an internet service.
    Remains the question: Are there any alternatives?

    1. Re:It was nice while it lasted by umghhh · · Score: 4, Interesting
      NEVER is a strong word. It seems there are limits what current business models can do and what you seem to like so much i.e. fee free service may not be feasible in nearest future due to the fact that advertising revenue is not there.

      There has been an article on Economist website about the end of the free lunch. The article itself is rather simplistic but what can you expect from economists - anybody that reads news recently should know that they ain't that smart either. They maybe onto something though - majority of web services will need some other revenue than advertising or it will collapse. Whether this eliminates the whole business model I doubt but we are going to see anyway.

    2. Re:It was nice while it lasted by ross.w · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't pay for the radio I listen to over the air. Why would I pay for it just because it comes from a web site?

      --
      If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
    3. Re:It was nice while it lasted by Skater · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm curious. With the newspapers in major trouble right now, if they can't make money on internet offerings and go out of business, will the quality of media decline? The newspapers usually have better reporting than the television news. I'm not a huge fan of the media, but they do have an important purpose in any elected system. Seeing people say they'll never pay for an internet service makes me worry about that.

    4. Re:It was nice while it lasted by QuoteMstr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Initially, Pandora's count of the number of songs you skipped was kept on the client, so reloading the page reset the number of songs you were allowed to skip. That seems to have been fixed now, but it was interesting while it lasted. Your workaround for Pandora's geographic limitations is in the same vein --- it'd have been easy for Pandora to make it work differently, but they didn't.

      Considering the otherwise great quality of Pandora, I think their programmers just really don't like these restrictions, and implement them in the most half-assed way possible. Kudos to them.

  2. Huge database by Extremus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They have a huge database of listening habits and cannot make money on it. It will be a good example of incompetence.

  3. At least it will kill its usage... by fmstasi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I started using last.fm only a few months ago; I configured amarok to scrobble the music I listen, then once in a while I use last.fm streams to discover new music with my neighbors' radio. I would'nt pay the admittedly low fee of 3$/month only for this, so I will simply stop using it. I guess the vast majority of users will do the same.

  4. Quality? by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I recently was in the market for a new soundcard. Not just a soundcard but one that does 5.1 and EAX support for the games I play.

    This is harder then it sounds because Creative is shooting straight for the bottom. Their new X-fi chip is so bad they had to allow a third party to use it to get a decent soundcard out. Oh well, luckily I am dutch and I could test the X-fi myself, simply by buying it, running it over the weekend, then returning it on monday when it didn't work out. Full money back. Tried another sound card, returned that too, money back.

    Free internet services can pull all kind of crap but the moment I pay for something I am protected by dutch law. Not american "companies own your ass" laws, not british "we want to be american" laws, but dutch laws. The only country in the world where Sony was FORCED to replace ALL PSP's with any defective pixels and this policy has affected all LCD's for years. Pixel warranty? Only for those silly enough not to know the law.

    Can Last.FM stand up to this? Can they provide a service with which I will be satisfied 100% or money back, no questions asked? Of course not.

    That for me is the difference between paying for something and something being free. I expect and demand and have the law on my side to get my money worth. Even if it is "only" three euro. Frankly I have tried last.fm several times and their service is pretty bad. Spotty loading, slow, lack of pre-buffering and their recommendation system is hazy. It can't even tell bands apart so it will happily mix completely opposite music styles just because one band that is in the style you look for has the same name.

    3 euro's? No thanks.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.