Last.fm

Music tracking website

Last.fm is a music streaming and recommendation service that tracks users' listening habits across platforms.

The service "scrobbles"—logs each song played—to build a profile of musical taste and suggest new artists.

My Last.fm shows I listened to that album fifty times this month.

The site also functions as a social network for music enthusiasts.

discovery

recommendations

Proposed courses of action

tags · neighbors · discovery

scrobbling

playcount

Times a song played

plays · weekly chart · compatibility · taste profile · top tracks · metadata · timestamps

community

profiles

Summaries of characteristics

  • friendsVoluntary close relations
  • shoutboxEmbedded website messaging widget
  • groupsCollections of related things

events · forums · followers · listeners · compatibility · music sharing · comments · connections · gigs · concerts

charts

top tracks

Most-played songs

Opposites
music discovery vs. music purchasing

Last.fmBandcamp

Independent music distribution site

record store · Tower Records · HMV

social listening data vs. private listening

Last.fmvinyl collection

Assembled LPs and singles

CD player · car radio

algorithmic personalization vs. curated/editorial content

Last.fmPitchfork

Digital music journalism outlet

Rolling Stone · NME · music critic · BBC Radio 1 · curated playlist

Family

lasting, listen, lasts, lastly, lasted, lastingly

Familiarity
Top 1,000,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G