Free-On-Demand Streaming Spurs Strong Double Digit User Growth For Last.fm

Free-On-Demand Streaming Spurs Strong Double Digit User Growth For Last.fm

U.S. Listening Spikes 85% Over Previous Week on Day of Launch

NEW YORK and LONDON, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Last.fm, the online music discovery network owned by the CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS.A)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:CBS), realized strong user growth in several key categories after launching it's free-on-demand streaming service Wednesday.

In the United States, Last.fm's unique listeners increased 85% on the day of launch (Jan. 23) versus the previous Wednesday (Jan. 16). Listening metrics are considered especially relevant as a method to measure a user's engagement with the site. In addition, the site realized a 45% increase in page views and 27% increase in unique visitors in the U.S. during the same time period.

The site's momentum continued yesterday as unique listeners increased 80% as compared to the previous Thursday. Page views and unique visitors also increased 60% and 31% respectively during the same time period.

"Adding a wealth of great new content to our existing community is something that we've been looking forward to for some time," said Martin Stiksel, Last.fm co-founder. "We're pleased that people have responded so favourably, and we're eager to roll out many more services and features over the coming months to ensure that our growing community remains engaged and musically enriched."

In launching the free-on-demand service earlier this week, Last.fm became the first music Web site to offer free, global, on-demand access to the largest licensed catalogue of music built on partnerships with all four major record labels - including Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG, Warner and EMI - as well as CD Baby, IODA, the Orchard, Naxos and more than 150,000 independent labels and artists. Free-on-demand listening is available without registration, or the download of any software.

"The U.S. is a critical part of the global marketplace," said Felix Miller, co-founder, Last.fm. "We are pleased that free-on-demand streaming has increased our audience so quickly. We will now continue to build upon our industry-leading content library, and roll out free-on-demand in other countries in order to grow our community around the world."

Last.fm has become one of the leading places in the world where people can go to listen to music online. Its vast library has attracted a community of more than 20 million unique monthly users in 240 countries around the globe. The heart of Last.fm is a powerful recommendation engine that guides listeners to music they are likely to enjoy based on prior selections, connecting them with the music they love and with others who share their tastes. Last.fm's free-on-demand service will be advertiser supported, allowing clients many unique opportunities to reach a highly targeted and engaged audience.

Currently the free-on-demand service is available in the US, UK and Germany, and is scheduled to roll out globally in the coming months.

About Last.fm

Founded in 2002 in London, Last.fm is the online, social music revolution that connects people with music and artists with listeners. By joining the Last.fm community, music fans can choose to share their music preferences by linking their media player to the Last.fm database. This database is populated continually with over 600 million monthly track submissions from Last.fm music fans. As a result, Last.fm can intelligently recommend songs, artists, local concerts and even other members based on their musical tastes. Thanks to partnerships with EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, CD Baby, independent aggregators The Orchard and IODA, and more than 100,000 independent musicians and 20,000 labels that upload music directly to the site, Last.fm can draw recommendations from one of the most extensive online music catalogues. Learn more about Last.fm at www.last.fm.

About CBS Corporation

CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. The Company, through its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets. It has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and The CW - a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime and CSTV Networks), local television (CBS Television Stations), television production and syndication (CBS Paramount Network Television and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), in-store media (CBS Outernet) and motion pictures (CBS Films). For more information, log on to www.cbscorporation.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: KJorgensen@cbs.com

Source: CBS Corporation

CONTACT: In New York: Shannon Jacobs, +1-212-975-3161, sljacobs@cbs.com;
or In London: Christian Ward, +44 (0) 20 7780 7080, christian@last.fm

Web site: http://www.cbscorporation.com/
http://www.last.fm/

Company News On-Call:

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/185007.html

-------
Profile: intent