Last.fm launches free music service

Last.fm has launched what it's describing as the "world's biggest free music service".

The online radio site has signed deals with Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI, offering users complete access to their catalogues. The site also claims to have signed up more than 150,000 independent labels and artists.

Under the deal, visitors to the site will be able to listen to any track via a streaming service up to three times. After that the listener will be pointed towards iTunes, Amazon and 7 Digital to purchase the song.

The service will be funded by a proportion of the resulting sales and advertising revenue generated.

"At the moment it's just three opportunities, and the record labels aren't going to stretch on that," a Last.fm spokesperson explains. "Last.fm are pushing for longer, maybe something time based, but that might be something for the future. It doesn't look likely to change in the short term."

Alongside this, the site is also launching an "Artist Royalty" scheme, under which unsigned artists who upload their music to the site receive a royalty payment each time their music is played.

"Last.fm isn't revealing financials at the moment," the spokesperson confirmed when questioned by PC Pro. "It won't be a tiered system based on demand. The bands will receive a fixed amount for each play. So, a good band with a few thousand plays could potentially earn a few hundred quid, which is better than nothing."

The on-demand service is available in the US, UK and Germany, with other markets to follow later in the year.