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Monday, February 7, 2011

CBS-owned Last.FM drops the "free" part of most radio service on mobile devices

last.fm Last.FM's Matthew Hawn tells the BBC "it's not that we're losing buckets of money on our service...but we're trying to make rational decisions about our business model." Next Tuesday (February 15) the option to listen to Last.FM's personalized radio service on Android or iOS devices or the Logitech Squeezebox system will go away, and users will have to pay $3 a month the U.S. (or 3 pounds in the UK or 3 Euros on the Continent). The ad-supported model wasn't working financially for many mobile devices, though Last.FM will continue offering that option on the website and to desktops. Also, Windows Mobile 7 users won't be immediately cut off. PaidContent.org notes that CBS Interactive told it last March that Last.fm would turn its first-ever profit in 2010 - but it's not clear whether that happened.

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