Music tastes vary from people to people, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, most people tend to stick with only one kind of style and so they become stuck within that one genre or cycle of artists. When it’s difficult to find reliable music suggestions that adhere to one’s taste; what should one do? Last.fm has the answer to everyone’s music problems.
A U.K. based online music community; Last.fm has over 300 million members in more than 200 different countries. As an online radio station, users are able to create their own streamed stations or playlists established on their own their preference. The “Audioscribbler” achieves this by taking note of the characteristics in each song that the user listens to and applies this to Last.fm’s music database. From here, the information is “scrobbled” as a plugin onto the user’s profile, displaying their musical tastes.
Each song has its details listed as tags, which range from the mood (“cool”), instruments (“piano”), genre (“indie rock”), or characteristics of the artist (“avant-garde”). Users are also able to create their own tabs for their own specific use on their account. When a song is streaming, a listener is allowed several choices. A song can be loved, skipped, or banned depending on how much the song is liked. Artists and labels may choose if their music will be streamed only, for purchase, or free download.
A basic user account comes with four applications: the profile, recommendations, groups, and events. Profiles give a basic overview of user and what kind of music they listen to. It’s possible for members to edit their profile information as they see fit. Recommendations, known as “the Dashboard,” pull from the songs that are played, artist pages that are visited, artists mentioned in the “journal” feature and through similar tastes between friends on the site. Groups are formed through a common interest between numerous users. For this, there is a posting space and group radio based on the tags of the members. Events provide a chance for users to post information about upcoming shows or venues that they would like others to know about.
Getting used to the site may be confusing at first, considering all the possible options. However, once you get the hang of it, it’s a very efficient way of managing everything. The format of the site is well-organized and easy to navigate. There are also images of promoted artists throughout the pages and tabs. Some of the ads may get obnoxious, but it’s never bad enough to distract from the page.
Need music? Need good music? Need reliable music? Check out Last.fm and you’ll be sure to find a whole new musical world.
