I was finally able to use Last.fm for the first time, and….wow….was it confusing.
Before long (and close to when I was planning to write off the platform), the chaos (like having multiple entries of the same album) started to make sense. The link on the right side of the screen for listening on Amazon was something separate, just a way to integrate it better for users of Amazon Prime.
It seems like the best way to make the most out of it is to get your main listening platform (like Spotify, Deezer, 8Tracks…) to send information to Last.fm, that way the algorithm could start Scroobling. So it kind of makes sense why I have yet to come across users frustrated with ads that litter an album, track, or artist page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpKA4JFnN1Z/?tagged=boseheadphones
So how does this all link into Monica Geller’s well known penchant for wanting to bring a bit order into the world?
It would be easy to mistake Last.fm for a listening platform. That it provides a service similar to iTunes, Pandora, and YouTube. You check out content, then you get recommended ones based on the ones you spent significant time on. Now I know that it was likely the cause of my confusion (I did wonder why I was being forwarded to YouTube tracks that are remotely not the tracks from the album — when there are tracks out there released in tandem with the labels who either own or have the right to distribute an artist’s creations?).
If you’re finding yourself having that need to put something in order (maybe for an hour or two), here is where you can invest your energy: link up the correct YouTube tracks. The best way you can find official ones is looking up the artist and when you get the results, you’ll notice on the right hand side…music specific results (that have to do with albums or singles).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoxBswUF1Am/?taken-by=lawrencetheband
For example, if you were avid listeners of the music from the Lawrence siblings (Clyde and Gracie), you can update links to their missing tracks on ‘Breakfast‘. Not only it’ll help new users make much more sense of how the platform works…you’ll also be helping listeners decide whether that particular track is for them without having to open Deezer.
Have a family friend who’s just released their latest album and it doesn’t appear yet on Last.fm’s database? Listen to it on Spotify, then before long (now I’m not exactly sure if its a matter of hours, days or weeks) it’ll appear and you can update the YouTube links. Then you can even offer to update the other information like album covers and artist information!
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What kind of activities help you invest your energy in positive ways? I look forward to your thoughts via Twitter!
For more content click here for my other pieces and here for previous entries from the Music Discovery Project.
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