FISTFULAYEN

I admit, it’s a huge breath of fresh air to be free of the “I license catalogs of music” business. Look at the position Last.fm has found themselves in:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/the-warner-music-ends-at-lastfm/

I won’t say much on the topic but suffice it to say this is pretty much how I was expecting this to go and why I ultimately steered Yahoo! Music away from direct licensing of ad-supported streams and into the Rhapsody deal.

Last.fm used to have a nice, utilitarian, meta-business. Given my Nullsoft and Mediacode background, those are the kinds of businesses I liked; providing utility to people who love music, not needing a license from anyone to get it done. That’s why I wanted to buy FoxyTunes. Great user-focused utility, no nonsense.

While Topspin is different, it’s good to be back in the sweet spot, servicing the parts of the value chain that actually want to be serviced: the artists and the fans.

ian