Music fans were rejoicing Thursday as they started to discover what is widely believed to be the first major offering of free and legal hit music on the internet.
Over 3.5 million tracks were available at Last.fm, a social networking music site bought by CBS last year for 280 million dollars.
Previously Last.fm users could specify genres to listen to without choosing individual artists or tracks. Under a new system unveiled Wednesday users can specify any available track up to three times before being pressed to buy it.
The site hopes to make money through advertising and music sales, and says it will significantly broaden its catalogue in the coming weeks. The addition of on-demand, full-track streaming could help music companies battle the scourge of illegal music downloading that has prompted a huge decline in CD sales.
All four major labels - Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Group - have agreed to open their catalogs to Last.fm. The music companies will take an unspecified share of the ad revenues.
Competing subscription services sold by the likes of Napster and Rhapsody have failed to gain much traction with consumers.
link
No comments:
Post a Comment