Audioscrobbling and Recommendations
In order for Last.fm to learn what sort of music a user prefer's, they employ a technique known as "audioscrobbling," in which users submit all the metadata (i.e. Artist, Track Name, etc.) about what they listen to, as they listen to it. This can be done using the Last.fm program, or through plugins/integration in the user's preferred media player. Last.fm then posts this data on the user's profile page, and analyzes to provide the user with music recommendations based off of what they already listen to. Last.fm also provides information about concerts and other music events by the user's favorite artists in the user's area.
Internet Radio
Last.fm provides numerous Internet radio stations. User's cannot specifically select a song to play or the order that the songs are played in, however users can skip and/or ban songs, as well as tag songs and mark the as "loved." Radio stations are based on either the user's music recommendations, music liked the user's "musical neighbors," or music that has been loved by the users when they previously listened. Radio stations can also be created on the fly by entering in any artist or tag. Last.fm will then play music similar to that of the artist entered, or play through all music with the specified tag. Internet radio can either be played through an in-page flash player, the official Last.fm program, or through third-party media players that have integrated Last.fm. The flash player can be embedded on any website, and on Facebook and Myspace profiles.
Social Networking
After the user creates a profile, Last.fm automatically generates a list of "musical neighbors," or people with similar music tastes. Last.fm also allows users to upload an avatar and friend other users. Users can also recommend music to each other, as well as inform other users about what concerts they have attended and/or planning to attend.
