Selling Out: Last.fm Bought By CBS
Today, Last.fm (one of the two social networks I subscribe to, the other is Digg) was acquired by CBS. The team behind the site are swearing up and down that this acquisition is a good, scratch that, great thing but I have my doubts.
What would CBS want with Last.fm? Easy, to advertise and collect information. Just like MySpace, Last.fm is a fresh pool of untainted demographics just waiting to be tapped. CBS doesn’t care about Last.fm’s “determination to offer every song ever recorded.” They don’t care about “chang[ing] the music industry, and [the] way people interact with music for good.” All CBS cares about is the bottom line. How much more product can they push? How much more ad revenue can they collect?
CBS isn’t joining “the revolution.” They don’t care about users yearning to discover new music on their own accord. How much money is CBS going to make because I discovered some tiny band out of Omaha using Last.fm? Answer, none. How much money will CBS make when some brace – toothed – teen “discovers” Panic! At the Disco off Last.fm? Answer, a fraction of a cent. So, what will CBS do? Answer, change a level playing field to another shoving – the – next – overrated – sugar – soaked – pop – group – down – everyones – throat, “service.”
Looks like another, “Are You Sure You Want To Cancel” message is in my future.
Interesting.
It seems as the social websites that run the gamut from music to geekdom (which are sometimes one and the same) are being bought up as information highway bulletin boards. However, one has to ask if this is selling out? Perhaps it was the sole intention for the creators of MySpace and LastFm to sell their product for a huge profit. Because it’s come to fruition doesn’t mean they’ve sold out – just that they’ve sold. Perhaps we look at it as “selling out” because we do subscribe to that ethic. Perhaps, without realizing it, we’re projecting it upon the sites we belong to. Now, it would be a different story if these sites declared their indie-ness and then sold out to the likes of CBS or Fox or whomever….
I suppose if it was the sole intention to make a site for profit then no, Last.fm didn’t sell out. However, I don’t think that was the creators intent. I think the people behind the site intended to feed into their geeky side by making a cool utility to track music tastes.
I’m not faulting them for making some fat cash. Hell, more power to them. The thing I’m upset about is their blissful ignorance of what CBS truly wants with the site. I think the creators are fooling themselves in believing CBS is going to pour truck loads of money into a site without demanding an almost immediate return.