Last.fm signs deal with Sony BMG
I missed this on June 26th:
In protest of royalties fees which take effect next month, the amount of which has been recently estimated to surmount their revenues by nearly four times, America’s largest and best-known streaming music sites, plus others worldwide, have gone silent for the day.
Probably because i don’t read enough, and I’m a Last.fm listener:
… London UK-based Last.fm — which was recently purchased by CBS for $280 million — opted out of today’s protest, though it offered a long explanation with regards to why.
“We do not want to punish our listeners for our problems, period,” writes Last.fm’s Felix Miller. “If a commercial challenge comes up, we have to deal with it. We have always done that, as many people who have been using Last.fm for a while can attest to.”
Fair enough. And deal with it they did…
The reasoning behind Web radio service Last.fm’s refusal to take part in the webcasters’ “day of silence” protest of exorbitant royalty fees that take effect this month became clear Monday, as the company announced a licensing deal with Sony BMG.
That means Billy Joel and Michael Jackson. Pink (yay!) and Avril Lavigne. Closer to home, it means the twin towers of Damien Leith and Dean Geyer.
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