[3] The ability to access the extensive catalogue of music stored on the site was later removed entirely and replaced by links to YouTube and Spotify where available.

[6] Jones developed the first plugins and subsequently opened an API to the community, which led to support for many music players across different operating system platforms.

Audioscrobbler was initially limited to tracking which songs its users played on registered computers, enabling charting and collaborative filtering.

Last.fm was founded in 2002 by Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel, Michael Breidenbruecker, and Thomas Willomitzer, all hailing from Germany or Austria.

Other changes included improvements to the friends system, updating it to require a two-way friendship, the addition of the Last.fm "Dashboard" where users can view relevant information for their profiles on a single page, expanded options for purchasing music from online retailers, and a new visual design for the website (including an optional black colour scheme).

Currently, the site is available in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, Turkish, and Simplified Chinese.

[17] On 22 February 2009, TechCrunch reported that "[the] RIAA asked social music service Last.fm for data about its users' listening habits to find individuals with unreleased tracks on their computers.

[19] The request was reportedly prompted by the leak of U2's then-unreleased album No Line on the Horizon and its subsequent widespread distribution through peer-to-peer file sharing services such as BitTorrent.

The announcement sparked a wave of disappointment among users, leading to a decline in data submissions, refusal to update signatures or avatars, and even account deletions.

[24] On 12 April 2010, Last.fm announced the removal of the option to preview entire tracks, redirecting users instead to sites such as the free Hype Machine and the pay-to-listen service MOG for this purpose.

This decision provoked a significant negative reaction from some members of the Last.fm user community, who perceived the removal as a hindrance to lesser-known and unsigned artists' ability to gain exposure for their music, as well as to the overall enjoyment of the site.

[31] The full extent of the breach, along with its connection to similar attacks against Tumblr, LinkedIn, and Myspace during the same timeframe, was not confirmed until August 2016.

On 12 July 2012, Last.fm announced a new website redesign that was open to public beta, inviting feedback from users participating in the testing phase.

After the integration with Spotify, these tracks could still be played and downloaded where the option was available; however, following the change, artists themselves were unable to access their songs in the Last.fm catalog.

[4] The website experienced a slight revival during the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in 2020, linked to its popularity within music communities on the communication platform Discord.

In 2004, the company received its first round of angel money from Peter Gardner, an investment banker who was introduced to the founders as early as 2002.

A second round was led by Stefan Glaenzer, joined by Joi Ito and Reid Hoffman, who also purchased shares from Michael Breidenbruecker.

In 2006, the company secured its first round of venture capital funding from European investors Index Ventures, whose General Partners Neil Rimer and Danny Rimer joined Last.fm's board of directors, which included Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel, and Stefan Glaenzer (chair).

Last.fm automatically generates a profile page for every user, which includes basic information such as their username, avatar, date of registration, and the total number of tracks played.

Recommendations are calculated using a collaborative filtering algorithm, allowing users to browse and hear previews of a list of artists not featured on their own profiles but present on those of others with similar musical tastes.

One notable feature of Last.fm is the semi-automatic weekly generation and archiving of detailed personal music charts and statistics, which contribute to profile building.

Each of these charts is based on the actual number of listeners for the track, album, or artist, recorded through an Audioscrobbler plugin or the Last.fm radio stream.

As the information generated is largely compiled from the ID3 data from audio files "scrobbled" from users' own computers, inaccuracies and misspellings can lead to numerous errors in the listings.

[57] The results differ significantly from traditional commercial music charts provided by the UK Top 40, Billboard, Soundscan, and others, which are based on radio plays or sales.

For example, The Beatles have consistently ranked among the top five bands on Last.fm, reflecting the enduring popularity of their music regardless of current album sales.

[60] Under the terms of the station's "radio" license, listeners may not select specific tracks (except as previews) or choose the order in which they are played.

The radio stream utilizes an MP3 format encoded at 128 kbit/s and 44.1 kHz, which can be played using the in-page Flash player or the downloaded Last.fm client.

[63] Streaming and radio services were discontinued by Last.fm on 28 April 2014, allowing the platform to "focus on its core product, the scrobbling experience."

Scrobbling is feasible with music stored and played locally through software on devices such as PCs, mobile phones, tablets, and standalone (hardware) media players.

As of March 2008, the website introduced a section titled "Build," where third-party applications can be submitted for review and subsequently posted to the page.