CBS Buys Last.fm

I am slightly out of touch here in Copenhagen — my hotel does not have Internet in the rooms — so I learned that CBS has acquired Last.fm via Twitter today (thanks, Paulo).

[from from Reuters]

Media group CBS Corp said on Wednesday it had paid $280 million in cash for the popular music social network service Last.fm.

CBS said in a statement the online service had more than 15 million active users in more than 200 countries. The Last.fm team will continue to run the online network under the terms of the deal.

I met with Felix Miller and Stefan Glänzer of Last.fm in London a month ago, and I suggested that Apple should but Last.fm as the basis of a social iTunes. They looked at each other. I asked if something was in the works, and they politely wiggled away from that line of inquiry. It’s clear now, of course, that they were in talks with CBS… and maybe others.

[Also reported by the BBC and Los Angeles Times]