CBS buys Last.fm for $280 million

Filed under: Audio, News

CBS buys Last.fm for $280 million

by Brad Linder May 30th 2007

While early rumors had Viacom preparing to purchase UK-based internet radio site Last.fm for $450 million, it looks like the CBS corporation has snatched up last.fm for the bargain price of $280 million. (If you're scratching your head, yes, CBS used to be part of Viacom, but the two split up last year).

Last.fm had set itself the (possibly unrealistic) goal of adding every music track every recorded to its library. Having a major media corporation for a parent makes that lofty goal seem a bit more feasible. But perhaps just a bit.

CBS has strong roots in terrestrial radio, with 179 stations in 50 markets across the U.S. While the fate of online radio remains to be seen, there's no doubt online music services are gaining in popularity, so it makes sense that CBS would want to pick up one of the market leaders. Last.fm boasts that it has 15 million listeners each month.

[Thanks Gil Creque!]

Tags: cbs, last.fm

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Gil Creque said 2:45PM on 5-30-2007

No problem. You guys provide me with enough info. =)

Marcus said 2:55PM on 5-30-2007

I feel like I'm reading TechCrunchClone instead of DownloadSquad lately. Is there a way to filter out all the duplicate articles?

Christopher Walken said 3:07PM on 5-30-2007

I wonder how they'll integrate this with CBS Radio.

breba said 3:34PM on 5-30-2007

Paying $18.66 per user seems high because I don't think they can continue to grow under CBS. I know I don't want a large corporation like CBS to have my music listening information. I could imagine them giving it to the RIAA. Good thing I moved to http://soundcrank.com.

Jenny said 4:20PM on 5-30-2007

It doesn't really matter to us as long as the service is not interrupted.

Jenny
http://www.spaml.com

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