Bobbyisms: The last music service you'll ever need
I write about random things a
lot. I write a lot about random
things. Did you know that
Suzanne Vega is considered the
mother of the MP3 format? Her
song "Tom's Diner" was the one
engineers chose to work on while
perfecting compression technology
in the 1980s for its distinct
sound.
Decades later, there have come and gone countless social media applications meant for people to enjoy and discover new music - MP3 format or otherwise - whether they're intuitive websites or sophisticated mobile apps, and only the truly unique have managed to stand the test of time; like a new business, the first year after such a service is rolled out is a crucial time.
Last.fm, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002, is arguably the most empowering and comprehensive social music service available to listeners today. For free, Last.fm tracks music you listen to on your computer and mobile phone - through programs like iTunes, Windows Media Player and more - and stores that record in your profile.
From there, Last.fm drives music discovery like few other sites can. Last.fm also features artist profiles created for every band, group and musician in its database and does its best to tag them into accurate categories based upon the feedback and listening habits of Last.fm users.
How it works
Last.fm helps you find new music and artists based on what you're already listening to. As a new user, you can sign up for a free account and download their scrobbling (tracking) software to your computer, and then let Last.fm do the rest - as you listen to music, Last.fm gathers all the data it needs about the artist and records it in your online library. From there, users can highlight songs with a "Love" button or add them to personal playlists to be stored on the site.
The heart of the service is the sophisticated analytic engine that results from the information it collects; any time you listen to music on your computer, your mobile phone, or even on certain websites like The Hype Machine (hypem.com), Last.fm puts together an increasingly complex record of your musical taste and uses it to help you discover similar music, which can happen through browsing, user recommendation or even simply with the Last.fm radio.
Your profile will display the information as it collects, and delivers comprehensive lists based on your Top Artists, Top Tracks and a real-time view of the music you listen to. It's easy to switch between criteria to see what single song you've listened to most in a given period of time, or to see everything you've listened to in a given week. Last.fm stores all this information permanently and offers recommendations every step of the way.
But there's still more - Last.fm features an events calendar that offers you alerts whenever any of your favourite artists are playing in your region and offers concert information for cities and venues nearby; here in London, it's easy to get notifications of events happening in nearby areas like Windsor, Guelph and more.
Why it's useful
Built upon a social foundation, Last.fm provides users with online profiles and an engaging system allowing messaging, friend requests and interactions. What's more, when you browse the profiles of other listeners, you see a visual representation of your musical compatibility with that person; you can see all of their listening history and information, and based upon that, Last.fm drives the social aspect from the perspective of celebrating a fan's similarities.
There are individual profiles for artists, too. If you searched for Led Zeppelin, you would see that as of this writing the band has been played nearly 106 million times by two million Last.fm users. Further still, you have widgets showing similar artists based on listener activity, available music videos to screen, their top albums and songs based on user popularity, photos, what listeners are saying about them, what social groups you can join as a fan of the band and much more.
And Last.fm radio is a valuable feature available either on their website or through their scrobbling software. Simply type in an artist or band name to hear them in a playlist full of artists that Last.fm users have indicated are similar. You can choose to favour songs with a "Love" button or "Ban" them from appearing in future playlists, customizing your own listening experience. It should be noted here that their radio service is offered on a trial basis in most regions and is fully available with a small monthly subscription.
Almost 10 years old, Last.fm has been driving music discovery in ways unlike many music services available to listeners, and the key to its longevity is surely rooted in its ease of use and successes as a recommendation and discovery engine. The only downside to this service as professed by longtime users is that it can't record music you play on every device or website, however the image it builds of your taste and listening habits is so detailed it could hardly be improved.
For more information, visit Last.fm and search for your favourite artists. It's easy to see how the artists and listeners overlap and fit against one another, and exploring the massive site is a lot of fun. Last.fm is also on Twitter @lastfm and has their hands in other social sites, always developing ways of improving the service they provide.
And for more of the latest in music news, views and services, follow me on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms, on Tumblr at bobbyisms.com, or even on Last.fm by searching for mrbobbyfoley. Since July 31, 2006, Last.fm has scrobbled over 41,500 unique plays in my library, and on my page you can see all the stats in very cool ways. Have fun with it! I'm out of words.
Decades later, there have come and gone countless social media applications meant for people to enjoy and discover new music - MP3 format or otherwise - whether they're intuitive websites or sophisticated mobile apps, and only the truly unique have managed to stand the test of time; like a new business, the first year after such a service is rolled out is a crucial time.
Last.fm, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002, is arguably the most empowering and comprehensive social music service available to listeners today. For free, Last.fm tracks music you listen to on your computer and mobile phone - through programs like iTunes, Windows Media Player and more - and stores that record in your profile.
From there, Last.fm drives music discovery like few other sites can. Last.fm also features artist profiles created for every band, group and musician in its database and does its best to tag them into accurate categories based upon the feedback and listening habits of Last.fm users.
How it works
Last.fm helps you find new music and artists based on what you're already listening to. As a new user, you can sign up for a free account and download their scrobbling (tracking) software to your computer, and then let Last.fm do the rest - as you listen to music, Last.fm gathers all the data it needs about the artist and records it in your online library. From there, users can highlight songs with a "Love" button or add them to personal playlists to be stored on the site.
The heart of the service is the sophisticated analytic engine that results from the information it collects; any time you listen to music on your computer, your mobile phone, or even on certain websites like The Hype Machine (hypem.com), Last.fm puts together an increasingly complex record of your musical taste and uses it to help you discover similar music, which can happen through browsing, user recommendation or even simply with the Last.fm radio.
Your profile will display the information as it collects, and delivers comprehensive lists based on your Top Artists, Top Tracks and a real-time view of the music you listen to. It's easy to switch between criteria to see what single song you've listened to most in a given period of time, or to see everything you've listened to in a given week. Last.fm stores all this information permanently and offers recommendations every step of the way.
But there's still more - Last.fm features an events calendar that offers you alerts whenever any of your favourite artists are playing in your region and offers concert information for cities and venues nearby; here in London, it's easy to get notifications of events happening in nearby areas like Windsor, Guelph and more.
Why it's useful
Built upon a social foundation, Last.fm provides users with online profiles and an engaging system allowing messaging, friend requests and interactions. What's more, when you browse the profiles of other listeners, you see a visual representation of your musical compatibility with that person; you can see all of their listening history and information, and based upon that, Last.fm drives the social aspect from the perspective of celebrating a fan's similarities.
There are individual profiles for artists, too. If you searched for Led Zeppelin, you would see that as of this writing the band has been played nearly 106 million times by two million Last.fm users. Further still, you have widgets showing similar artists based on listener activity, available music videos to screen, their top albums and songs based on user popularity, photos, what listeners are saying about them, what social groups you can join as a fan of the band and much more.
And Last.fm radio is a valuable feature available either on their website or through their scrobbling software. Simply type in an artist or band name to hear them in a playlist full of artists that Last.fm users have indicated are similar. You can choose to favour songs with a "Love" button or "Ban" them from appearing in future playlists, customizing your own listening experience. It should be noted here that their radio service is offered on a trial basis in most regions and is fully available with a small monthly subscription.
Almost 10 years old, Last.fm has been driving music discovery in ways unlike many music services available to listeners, and the key to its longevity is surely rooted in its ease of use and successes as a recommendation and discovery engine. The only downside to this service as professed by longtime users is that it can't record music you play on every device or website, however the image it builds of your taste and listening habits is so detailed it could hardly be improved.
For more information, visit Last.fm and search for your favourite artists. It's easy to see how the artists and listeners overlap and fit against one another, and exploring the massive site is a lot of fun. Last.fm is also on Twitter @lastfm and has their hands in other social sites, always developing ways of improving the service they provide.
And for more of the latest in music news, views and services, follow me on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms, on Tumblr at bobbyisms.com, or even on Last.fm by searching for mrbobbyfoley. Since July 31, 2006, Last.fm has scrobbled over 41,500 unique plays in my library, and on my page you can see all the stats in very cool ways. Have fun with it! I'm out of words.
