We’ve talked about Last.fm several times on MusicPlayer and news keeps following this social music site. We’ve talked about their scrobbling technology and their change in pricing models in the article Last.fm charges and Seeqpod dies. Continuing that story controversy and change continue to follow Last.fm and Seeqpod’s slow death march continues.
Awhile ago we also wrote about the controversy surrounding the chance that Last.fm shared “private” user data with the RIAA. Last.fm denied these charges but they resurfaced a few weeks ago in a report that it was actually CBS, Last.fm’s corporate owner, that turned over the data to the RIAA. Last.fm and CBS both deny these rumors – though the data presented in the report was pretty compelling and was based on what appeared to be reliable insider information.
This week it was announced in a blog Message from the Last.fm founders, Felix, RJ and Martin that the original founders were moving on. Conspiracy theorists will probably wonder if this points to insider battles over the pricing and RIAA issues between the founders and the corporate giant. However, it is far more likely that the founders contracts ran out. Most buy-out deals of a startup like the CBS-Last.fm deal require that the founders stay on for a given period of time to ensure continuity (and they don’t get the big cash pay out unless they stay). The $280 million deal occurred about 2 years ago – so the timing matches an appropriate buy out time period.
Whatever the real reason, this clearly is a transition for Last.fm from the Web 2.0 site started in the living room of a London flat to the Last.fm that represents the corporate media world.
Internet life has been even more interesting for Seeqpod. When last we wrote about them, Last.fm charges and Seeqpod dies, it certainly seemed like their days were numbered. Their website was restored since then, though all it has was a home page and the odd link to a song.
Rumors are that Seeqpod is getting ready to sell their technology. Actually it is possible that they have already been acquired by Microsoft, though the deal still has yet to be confirmed. However, if you visit www.seeqpod.com and click on the Seeqpod logo on the top of the page it will take you to Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine.
While Microsoft or a similar suitor would be interested in Seeqpod’s search technology that allows for the finding of music file across the Internet, it is unlikely that a corporate or software company would be interested in the seeeqpod domain – especially given the tainted past of the domain name.
Seeqpod CEO Kasian Franks has refused to confirm the rumors, saying only that a deal has “not officially closed.” At the same time it appears that the domain name is up for sale. The deal may not be finalized but the Bing link and the fact that the company is searching for buyers for the domain seem to confirm that Seeqpod’s future is not as a stand alone music site.
Overall – it looks like the corporate world – CBS and most likely Microsoft – are stepping in to help transition web 2.0 music startups into part of the media monster. Folks at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) must be popping the corks on the champagne!
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