Skip to the content
Context
Search for:
Context
  • Categories
    Analysis article
    20
    Analysis report
    28
    Book
    2
    Byline article
    244
    Conference report
    322
    Feature article
    51
    Interview
    209
    Interview story
    3,438
    News article
    481
    Opinion article
    2
    Promo article
    7
    Session
    45
    Uncategorised
    6,408
    Vendor report
    8
  • Focuses
    Company earnings
    494
    Company funding
    401
    Company hires
    608
    Company IPO
    56
    Company M&A
    638
    Company research
    7
    Company strategy
    3,771
    Consumer indicators
    76
    Essays
    15
    Interesting
    44
    Market trends
    109
    Views of analyst
    61
    Views of executive
    3,836
  • Companies
    2,419
  • Sources
    181
  • Series
    388
  • Topics
    189
  • People
    2,427
  • Clients
    130
  1. Home
  2. Categories
  3. Uncategorised

CBS Buys Last.fm For $280 Million; Aims To Attract Younger Demographic

By Robert Andrews
Originally published by paidContent paidContent, paidContent paidcontent.org • 30th May 2007

CBS is acquiring Last.fm for $280 million, ending months of speculation as to the likely buyer of the UK-based social music recommendation engine.

“Last.fm is one of the most well-established, fastest-growing online community networks out there,” CBS CEO Leslie Moonves is cited as saying in a statement LA Times said it obtained ahead of an official announcement Wednesday. “Their demographics also play perfectly to CBS’ goal to attract younger viewers and listeners.” LA Times, speaking to an unnamed CBS exec, claims on-site advertising will be beefed up, with a new array of music channels paid for by sponsors.

Last-fm co-founder Martin Stiksel confirmed the deal to BBC News: “This move will really support us to get every track ever recorded and every music video ever made onto Last.fm. With a strong partner like CBS, this is now within our reach. They want to move from a content company to an audience company, giving the audiences control and learning from this and that’s why Last.fm was their choice.” Stiksel said Last.fm would continue to operate independently, adding being based in London was best for a music-related company.

Last.fm has successfully negotiated deals to use music from EMI, Warner Music Group and a range of indies and, seemingly staking itself out as an online competitor to former CBS stablemate MTV, recently announced plans to let users create a recommendations-based video channel (an earlier rumor held that MTV owner Viacom would buy Last.fm for $450 million). Claiming Universal and SonyBMG are soon to come aboard, the site would be permitted to run tracks from all the majors. CBS would conceivably be able to marry many of Last.fm’s features with its radio network.

CategoriesUncategorised
FocusCompany M&A
Topiccommunity, entertainment, Music, Social Media
Companycbs, Last.fm
SourcepaidContent, paidcontent.org
ClientContentNext


© 2025 Context