The popular UK-based music streaming and discovery service Last.fm announced that it has expanded its on-demand listening and streaming radio services on the Japanese version of the site with content from Universal Music, IODA, The Orchard, and CD Baby. According to Last.fm, this means that its Japanese outpost now has close to 3.5 million tracks available on its streaming radio service, which makes it the largest free streaming music service in the country.]]>
Last.fm has also engaged in an affiliate partnership with HMV Japan, one of the country's largest music retailers, and directs its users to their site to purchase the music they listen to on Last.fm.
Local Content
Currently, Last.fm Japan features a catalog that is very similar to its offerings in the US and UK, but it doesn't feature a lot of local Japanese musicians. According to Last.fm, it is working on adding content from local Japanese labels in the "near future," but didn't specify any exact dates or names of labels it would like to include.
Streaming Complete Songs = Higher Click-Through Sales
One interesting piece of information in Last.fm's announcement is that it has increased its click-through sales in the US and UK by 119% since launching its free on-demand service in January. Not only does this provide a significant revenue stream for Last.fm, but it also shows that giving listeners access to the complete song instead of just the standard 30 second clips will actually make them more likely to buy the song. Currently, Last.fm allows its users to completely stream every song three times - after that, it also switched to the standard 30 second clips.
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