My general philosophy on music is that someone is not a music fan unless they have a last.fm account to prove it. If you haven't heard of last.fm and you are a music fan, then where have you been your whole life?!
Last.fm isn't just a website, it's a lifestyle choice. I have had my account since May 2006 and it is a beautiful thing. It's just such an interesting way to look at your music taste. Hopefully by now most people at least know roughly what Last.fm is so when I'm explaining it is isn't a completely alien concept.
Basically, I don't know much about the technicalities of it, but you sign up for a free account and download something which you then have to switch on in your iTunes (it is available for other music players too). This is where the magic begins. It basically uploads all the music you listen to on your computer (you can even use it with online streaming programs like Spotify) and builds you charts based on which artists, songs and albums you listen to most often.
You can add your friends, and then see what you listen to. You can search for your favourite artists, read their biographies, look at photos, see when their next concerts are coming up. You can see which of your friends listens to an artist the most. You can join groups, chat in forums, update your profile and send messages to friends. You can send and receive recommendations to friends, and the site will build up its own recommendations for you based on what you listen to. You can even see what the charts for the whole of the web community are.
In short, last.fm is a great way to discover new music, listen to music and get really anal about which bands you listen to. If you become addicted and obsessed like I am, then you'll start deliberately listening to artists that you want higher up on your charts. It's a brilliant and unique way to genuinely see which bands are your favourites, and I have discovered my fair share of music through it. I will never delete songs from my Last.fm, and it gives a near - complete listening history for the last 6 years for me. On top of this, it is compatible with iPods and iPhones (and other devices), so your charts really can be super-accurate!
If you're an artist, it also presents opportunities that few take full advantage of. You can upload pictures, your own music (and set songs to just be a sample, be played on Last.fm's random radio or be free to download). It gives you an idea of how popular your music is, listing how many plays there have been overall, by how many users, and, of course, makes charts so you can see which is your most popular song. On top of this, you can create events, so when you're playing live, people can find out about it and state their attendance.
Last.fm provides opportunities for music fans and musicians alike, and more people should definitely get into it and stay into it!
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