A post on Last.fm's website has outlined it will no longer be offering its radio service for free within applications and home entertainment devices, unless you are an Xbox Live user or own a Windows Phone 7 handset.
This means if you have Last.fm Android or free iPhone version, when February 15 arrives the service will require you to upgrade to its new premium service.
Don't despair, though. The change to the mobile applications may mean your radio listening is no longer gratuit, but you will only have to pay a measly £3 a month, about the same as it would cost to buy a pricey cup of coffee or sponsor a badger.
And let's remember Xbox Live itself is a premium service, costing a few quid a month. We're not so sure why Windows Phone 7 has remained free, but we aren't complaining.
Why the change? Quoting the post from the Last.fm website, the company said, "On the Last.fm website an ad-supported, free-to-listeners model is what supports our online radio services in the US, UK and Germany.
"In other markets and on emerging mobile and home entertainment devices, it is not practical for us to deliver an ad supported radio experience, but instead, we will migrate to what we believe is the highest quality, lowest cost ad-free music service in the world."
So is anything else affected by the change? Apparently not. "This change only affects the radio component of Last.fm’s services on mobile and home entertainment devices.
Other features of our service — like scrobbling, music and event recommendations, social networking and community forums, and Last.fm’s wiki-based artist information pages — remain free to users worldwide."
The Last.fm application is free to download.
Source: Know Your Mobile
0 comments:
Post a Comment