Vodafone launches Last.fm mobile platform

by Dan Leahul, Brand Republic 17-Dec-08, 10:55

LONDON - Vodafone is partnering with Last.fm to bring music website's "scrobble" music tracking technology to its mobile phone customers.

The Last.fm mobile platform includes "scrobble" functionality, which tracks what users are listening to in real-time and builds an online music profile based on their listening habits.

Last.fm then uses this information to recommend new music, events, video and other Last.fm users, based on their music preferences.

Vodafone customers in Germany will be able to click through directly to the Vodafone Music Store to sample and buy music recommended by Last.fm.

Martin Stiksel, Last.fm co-founder, said: "It's really exciting to be launching our scrobbling mobile phone application with Vodafone.

"We're working hard to ensure that the Last.fm experience is available everywhere, from your desktop through hardware to phones, and this is another big step towards that goal."

The Last.fm platform is available for selected Nokia handsets, including the N95, N96, N78 and 6210 and can be downloaded here.

Last week, parent company CBS announced 20 layoffs would be made in Last.fm's London office, after CBS Interactive merged the newsrooms of CBSNews.com and CNET. CBS paid $280m for Last.fm in May.