This feels revolutionary … Channel 4 Radio, the offshoot of the TV channel that is extending into non-visual territory, has signed a deal with music recommendation engine Last.fm to develop a music chart show compiled from the listening habits of users around the world, reports MediaWeek. Called The Worldwide Chart, the show will be the exclusive UK carrier of Last.fm data, which is made up from automatic reports sent by users’ media player software to produce personal and community-wide listening visualizations.
Channel 4 Radio said it aims to create the first music show that “truly reflects what people are listening to across the globe”, breaking down popular artists and genres in different regions around the world. MediaWeek: “The strategic alliance will see the parties working to identify new opportunities for music exploitation on digital platforms. Last.fm will be able to track and share the music that all 4Radio DJs are playing, allowing listeners registered on Last.fm to interact with shows and compare their own music taste with that of each DJ.” Unofficial BBC hackers previously cobbled together similar experiments that generated Last.fm profiles for BBC radio stations and so allowed the brands to discover musical “neighbors”. Channel 4 Radio is currently building up an online and podcast program catalog while vying to be granted the UK’s second nationwide digital radio multiplex. Last.fm’s star is rising, signing label deals to include music clips online and boasting some 65 million different tracks.
Update: Channel 4 Radio director Nathalie Schwarz in the press release: