Is this just the beginning of many more ‘not free anymore’ services to come? We’re talking about Last.fm which recently posted on its official blog that it will no longer be offering its radio services for free on mobile phones and other home entertainment devices. Users will have to start paying up for the radio tool as it attains a subscribe-only stature.
The online radio services proffered by the company in the U.S., UK and Germany are known to have been an ad-supported model which cost nothing at all to listeners. The free service was apparently not feasible on mobile and home entertainment devices and in other markets. Last.fm has hence moved on to an ad-free business model that will require users to pay for a subscription.
There’s no denying the enhanced utilities as far as radio is concerned proffered by Last.fm. From customized stations or artist to tagging radio, the service seems to have much for the odd audiophile. What’s more, their catalogue includes music from major labels and unsigned artists too.
Those who already avail of radio through dedicated applications on their mobile devices will know of other music services like Pandora, Spotify and Slacker charging for the same. With Last.fm’s services, it’s only the radio element that will be paid and additional attributes such as music and event recommendations, scrobbling, social networking and community forums will still be free.
Last.fm’s radio service will transform to an ad-free, subscriber-only one from February 15, 2011. On a positive note, users of Xbox Live and Windows Mobile 7 handsets in the U.S. and UK can still avail of the service for free via the Last.fm website. The Last.fm desktop app too won’t cost a penny.