14 DAY TRIAL // Strangely, in the last days, all I've been hearing about is music, the way DRM should be removed because it is obsolete, that perhaps iTunes should consider lowering its prices and so on and so forth. A lot of talk around one of the best selling products in the world, talks which sometimes I consider to be rather redundant. There's no point in saying the obvious, once it has already been said a couple of hundred times.
That's why I consider last.fm's new service launched yesterday as a sort of teaser. After coming to an agreement with the four big names of the industry, Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI, the website, accessible from every corner of the world, will allow users to listen to the same track only three times before having the option to buy it. And that is the only option, if you want to hear it again using the service.
It basically brings almost nothing new to the web, perhaps with the exception of the huge database. Aside from the big four, last.fm has signed agreements with 150,000 independent record labels and artists, according to WebUser.com. It's like a video on demand service, but for music.
"We're giving the listener free access to what is basically the best jukebox in the world. [?] The ability to dip into such a uniquely broad catalogue from your laptop, home or office computer, and listen to whatever you want for free represents a new way of consuming music that in turn might change the way you listen to music," Martin Siskel, last.fm's co-founder, said.
The service will support itself from the advertising revenue coming from the ads users will be hearing when streaming the music. Not amid the tracks, I hope, that'll have people on a riot. Aside from that, some cash flow will be coming from the payment of downloads.