Last.fm Plans Custom Music Video Channels

Corey writes "CNet's Crave is reporting that the popular Web 2.0 music site Last.fm is planning to launch a video-on-demand service that dynamically creates a custom video channel for users in the same way it currently does with music. Read/Write Web also cites a recent press release quoting directors at Last.fm as saying they plan to host every music video ever created. This could well turn out to be the MTV of Web 2.0."

That's nice

'Specially since MTV doesn't broadcast music videos any more.

Oh, dear..

This could well turn out to be the MTV of Web 2.0.

So it'll be full of reality shows, ringtone ads, army recruitment propaganda, and every so often a music video?

Re:Oh, dear..

Yeah, as long as it doesn't turn out to be the MTV of Web 2.0, this could be awesome.

MOG TV

MOG TV already took the title of MTV for Web 2.0: http://mog.com/tv [mog.com]

Finally

Hope this will for me block the overkill of gangsters/pimps with half-naked ladies that 80% of the MTV/TMF clips show the last couple of years.

Maybe the music channels on TV will discover that this is NOT what most people like too see.

Re:Finally

Maybe the music channels on TV will discover that this is NOT what most people like too see.

TV on what planet?

Sex and Violence are the biggest sellers...

Licensing...

Does this somehow bypass the abominable licensing dilemma that the RIAA has imposed on online radio? [capwiz.com]

Re:Licensing...

Last.fm is UK based. So presumably has to deal with the BPI's abominable licencing.

the old MTV of web 2.0

clearly they mean "Music Television" when it showed music videos, like say in 1985. They're not talking about the post-real-world "MTV" that goes out of its way to show as little music as possible.

The server already struggles

I still get server overload errors on Last.fm (just had one, in fact), and that's with just audio (plus track listing data, of course). They'll need a big investment in infrastructure to serve up video reliably.

not bad

I was just looking for an internet radio site... I'm working from home today and I couldn't find the power cord to the old portable radio. last.fm seems cool -- based on my first try. When you first login, it asks you for what band you're interested in listening to. I figured I'd give it a challenge, so I tried Mr. Bungle. A decent song came right up (Backstrokin) and it also gave me some decent suggestions for related bands -- some I hadn't heard of. The next song is right on key, so I'll keep listening for a while.

Lastfm video mashup already exists

In the meantime (whilst we figure out how the hell to get every video known to man ;) you can check out the mashup:

http://www.lasttv.net/ [lasttv.net]

which is pretty awesome.

Last.fm should focus on its core functions first

They have a horrible system for recommending similar music to users. They need to adopt the Music Genome Project [pandora.com] from Pandora [pandora.com] or something similar that they can create with their large and pretty active user base.

I use last.fm all the time and I love it, but not for what it is billed for. I am able to track my listening, which is cool because, dude numbers.... right? Also they have information on artists a click away from my page along with a calendar for events coming to my area. They use their database well in many ways, but they have yet to come up with a system for recommending new music that is good. Currently, it boils down to, if you like Artist A and these other 1000 people like Artist A, then you must like some of the other stuff they like. Then the bring in tags and produce some list that is bogus. Given they make money from selling CD's and getting a cut, you would think a large focus would be put on a system where people would actually find stuff they like when searching for similar sounding stuff.

As for the music videos - I do not care to much for the idea, but I see the draw for others. They have improved their site a great deal over the last few years and it shows no sign of slowing down, which is good. I just wish they would revisit the core elements of the site for a change and give us a system that works... it is, after all, what the site was meant to be about in the first place.

Re:Last.fm should focus on its core functions firs

I just wish they would revisit the core elements of the site for a change and give us a system that works...

Maybe you just don't get the core elements of the site, but it has always been a social network site based on similar music tastes. The Pandora project is an interesting idea in that it algorithmically determines music similarity (not hand coded like a poster above mentioned(?)) based on attributes such as tempo, etc. Last.fm, on the other hand, rates similarity based on what people are listening to. Meaning, Kelly Clarkson and The Killers (for example) do not have any musical attributes in common, but sure as shit the same people that listen to one, listen to the other. It breaks down with popular media because lots of different listener types will listen to the new rap/dance song, but again as someone said above, it works for things not so much in the popular culture (Ska, Screamo, Reggae, House, Funk, etc.).

The social network has been, and always will be, thier core element. Thier recommendation system is as good as the people listening to the music.

yeah right

Last.fm hardly has the bandwidth to support what it does already.

Deja vu all over again.

I thought that goal looked familiar. Youtube was aiming for the same thing. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060816-7521 .html [arstechnica.com]

Imeem.com

I like imeem. has quality mp3 songs. Way better than Itunes previews.

ZZZZzzzzz...

ZZzzzzz....Second Life...Zzzzzz....

Re:My Way! (seethis)

Or, if it's really like MTV, more like CMGI's MyWay ... http://www.restaurantrow.com/mywaypress.cfm/ [restaurantrow.com] And we all know how well that did ...