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Last.fm to start charging for streaming

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last.jpgDon’t
panic, unless you don’t live in the UK, US or Germany. But if your
domain does indeed fall outside of those three countries, you’ll have
to start coughing up cash to listen to Last.fm.

€3 per month
will be required to listen to Last.fm Radio. The other features on the
site – biographies, videos, charts et al – will remain free. Those
subject to this new subscription fee will be given a 30-track free
trial.

"Sure, this was a business decision," said Last.fm’s
Matthew Ogle, responding to users’ comments on the site’s blog. "But
after looking at our resources and opportunities we think it’s the best
way to keep improving Last.fm radio (and also support all the other
free services on Last.fm)."

The company says that their
existing sales force, combined with parent company CBS, is enough to
cover the UK, US and Germany’s licensing costs through advertising, but
the rest of the world will have to pay up.

"While we would
like to provide the same service for users of all countries," Owen,
"the world is a huge place and it’s not cheap to deliver music over the
Internet."