It's been two days since Last.fm launched its free, on-demand steaming music service, and already CBS is tooting its own horns. Last.fm's unique listeners increased 85% on Wednesday when the company announced the launch of its free service, compared to the previous week (Jan. 16). Since then (all of 48 hours), Last.fm has seen a 45% increase in page views and a 27% increase in unique visitors for the U.S. during the same time period. That's great, right? Last.fm saw a spike in traffic after the launching of a handy new service. Didn't see that one coming.
With agreements in place with all the major record labels, and a good amount of existing market share for online music communities, it's no surprise that Last.fm has seen such a positive response from its free music. The company shifted gears a bit in order to offer this new option to users, moving away from its direct reliance on users and towards a dynamic catalog of music. Adam O. mentioned that this new model, which pays artists each time a song is streamed (versus a fixed price model) will be good for artists, and may even be a comprehensive competitor to MySpace, which also allows for self-promotion, but without the pay.
Could MySpace implement a similar model and better defend its reigning position as the top spot for self-promoting musicians? More importantly, is CBS's move to take Last.fm in this particular direction a solidification of this business model in regards to musicians and their ability to leverage communities and the Internet for a direct pay model?