Last.fm to Expand to Terrestrial Radio in October

CBS Radio (Last.fm's parent company) will be taking over the four HD stations on Oct. 5, shifting the programming to playlists of users' most popular artists and tracks (!!) as charted by Last.fm's scrobbling software. The four stations will all broadcast the same playlist, they are as follows:

WWFS-FM (102.27 HD2) in New York

WXRT-FM (93.1 HD3) in Chicago

KCBS-FM (93.1 HD2) in Los Angeles

KITS-FM (105.3 HD3) in San Francisco

Now, this move begs a little bit of speculation and critique. There's no denying Last.fm's power as a marketing tool (which is why CBS paid in the neighborhood of $280 million to acquire them). CBS is basically trying to expand on the Last.fm brand, which isn't as well-known as, say, Pandora. And deservedly so: the Last.fm software is incredibly robust, and does a fantastic job tracking your listening habits and suggesting relevant artists you might like. (Although it still kills me a little bit every time I see DJ "WE THE BEST" Khaled as a recommended artist when I visit my homepage.)

HD radio is still a niche market, which makes CBS' gamble even less of a safe bet. It's available in most U.S. markets, but the number of HD receivers hasn't kept up with the rise in broadcasting stations. But as that CNET article points out, HD receivers are getting smaller and are finally starting to be placed into portable electronic devices. With the right push, Last.fm may finally deliver on that "social music revolution" they've been promising.