Last.fm to Charge Users Outside US, UK, Germany

Like whiling away those boring days at work listening to free streaming music? Many cubicle kings and queens enjoy no-charge service Last.fm, one of the most popular of these sites -- unfortunately, if you don't live and work in the United States, Germany, or Britain, it will soon cost you.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to access free music online. Hot on the heels of Warner's decision to rip its music off popular video site YouTube, Last.fm fans living outside the aforementioned three countries will soon have to pay a fee to access the site's mountain of music. It's not yet known what users in Canada, South America, Africa, or Asia will have to pay for the service, but other European nations will have to fork out about three euros a month. (Source: wired.com)

No Ads, No Music

The reason? Advertising. Last.fm claims that there just isn't enough bang for their buck when it comes to advertising in countries outside the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

In a recent blog post, Last.fm made their concerns clear. "These [the UK, US and Germany] are the countries in which we have the most resources to support an ad sales organization, which is how we earn money to pay artists and labels for their music." (Source: pcpro.co.uk)

In other words: no ad money translates to no music. "And so we've made the decision to focus on these markets for free streaming radio. We are still available worldwide and while listening is subscription [based], all the other rich content on the site is still free."

Streaming Music a U.S. Exclusive?

Last year a similar fate met Pandora streaming music users outside the United States, including the UK and Canada. Pandora blamed license rates for that debacle.