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Last.fm to end free radio service next month, offer it paid-for in UK and US

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The free online radio service Last.fm is to close its doors to free users for good next month, as it moves to try and stay afloat in a market where more people want free music and less want to pay up for streaming.

The service has been going for some time now and started to be monetised back in 2009 when the company began charging €3 per month in most countries, with the exceptions of the UK, US and Germany. Last.fm went mobile and started to charge for the service in April of last year, and now it is looking to do the same for all users.

Last.fm’s free online radio service, which offers users the chance to create tailor-made radio stations suited to their tastes and favourite artists, will close in almost all countries. The option to pay a monthly fee to continue listening will be available in the UK, US and Germany, while countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Brazil, who all currently use the pay model, will continue to do so as normal.

The company has explained the reasoning behind the measures, and it’s exactly as you’d expect; licensing music costs a heck of a lot of money, and when you’re letting people listen for free it becomes hard to find that money. Specifically, Last.fm says the cuts are due to “licensing restrictions”, noting that the move is “in response to various factors that affect our business differently in parts of the world.”

For countries that won’t switch to the pay model, the radio service will simply no longer be available. Users will still be able to visit the website and listen to demos, browse the website advert-free and use other features, which Last.fm claims it will be adding more of in the future.

It’s a shame that the service will no longer be free of charge here in the UK, but it’s a move that makes sense for the company.

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