14 DAY TRIAL // While the natural evolution of things has traditional radios moving online to keep up with the times, online radio station, social music aggregator and music-centric social network Last.fm is doing the exact opposite by moving to the airwaves. Owned by CBS, the site will effectively start running the media company’s HD radio stations in four cities in the US, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. The new broadcast will start airing October 5 and will tie in with Last.fm weekly charts generated by what its users are listening to.
“Last.fm’s newest initiative is a novel way for the CBS Interactive Music Group to exercise its radio programming knowledge with a fresh and innovative approach,” David Goodman, president of CBS Interactive Music Group, the company's online arm, said.
“Last.fm has a large and loyal following both here and abroad, and we’re thrilled to be taking this step to expose additional listeners to the world class service. Millions of people have helped create one of the best music discovery sites out there, and the information they provide us about their listening preferences will be at the core of everything we do on this new station.”
The new station will also feature live performances and interviews from Last.fm's New York studios along with the regular music broadcast. The broadcast will be available on the four CBS HD radio channels but also online in several locations including Last.fm itself, of course, and also on some CBS radio websites. The Last.fm-themed station will also be available to Yahoo Music Radio and AOL Radio users as well as on mobile apps for iPhone, iPod Touch and several Blackberry devices.
The move is expected to raise Last.fm's profile in the US, where it's facing some powerful and established competitors like Pandora and Imeem. The hottest music streaming service on the European market, Spotify is also expected to launch in the US by the year's end.