November 21, 2009
UTNE READER

Last.Fm Plays What You Want To Hear

July 18, 2003
Leander Kahney Wired News 
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share

In the age of ClearChannel, where computerized playlists have replaced DJs and marketing dollars determine what gets on the air, listeners are having an increasingly hard time finding new music. British online radio broadcaster Last.fm, has a creative solution: It tracks what you listen to and automatically personalizes the stream to fit your tastes, reports Lander Kahney for Wired News.

RELATED CONTENT

If you listen to a song all the way through, Last.fm assumes you liked it and records a ?thumbs up.? If you stop the stream or click to another one mid-way through a song, it records a ?thumbs down.? Using collaborative filtering software?similar to the way Amazon.com and TiVo recommend related books and TV shows?Last.fm compares your tastes with other listeners? and tailors the stream for you. ?It is all very intuitive,? says Michael Breidenbruecker, one of Last.fm?s co-founders. ?If you don?t like what you hear, press the Change button. It?s like flipping radio channels, or zapping TV. The emphasis is on enjoying the music. The recommendation aspect is hidden behind the actual consumption of music.?

Kahney quotes tech pundit Clay Shirky, who says technologies like Last.fm could usher in revolutionary changes in the music business. ?The industry harvests the aggregate taste of music lovers and sells it back to us as popularity, without offering anyone the chance to be heard without their approval,? Shirky wrote in a January, 2003 paper titled ?The Music Business and the Big Flip.? ?The industry?s judgment, not ours, still determines the entire domain in which any collaborative filtering will subsequently operate. A working ?publish, then filter? system that used our collective judgment to sort new music before it gets played on the radio or sold at the record store would be a revolution.?
?Leif Utne

Go there>>Last.fm: Music to Listerners? Ears

Related Links:

Related Links from the Utne Archive:

Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

Add Your Comment

We’d like to know what you think. To comment, please use this form. E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments. First time registrants: You will receive an email confirming your email address. Once you confirm, your comment will be posted. Questions about our comments policy? Click here.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Utne Reader?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


Pay Now & Save $6!
First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Want to gain a fresh perspective? Read stories that matter? Feel optimistic about the future? It's all here! Utne Reader offers provocative writing from diverse perspectives, insightful analysis of art and media, down-to-earth news and in-depth coverage of eye-opening issues that affect your life.

Save Even More Money By Paying NOW!

Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our Earth-Friendly automatic renewal savings plan. You save an additional $6 and get 6 issues of Utne Reader for only $29.95 (USA only).

Or Bill Me Later and pay just $36 for 6 issues of Utne Reader!