CBS buys online music network Last.fm
CBS Corp said on Wednesday it had paid $280 million in cash for the popular music social network service Last.fm.
CBS said in a statement the online service had more than 15 million active users in more than 200 countries and would fit well with its plans to attract younger viewers and transform it from a content company to an audience company.
The Last.fm team will continue to run the online network under the terms of the deal and work with CBS to apply their community-building and technology expertise to extend CBS businesses online, it said.
Last.fm is an innovative site that has earned glowing praise for its system, which recommends songs by tracking listeners' music-playing habits and linking them to fans with similar tastes.
The group, which is based in London, has also recently signed deals with music majors Warner Music Group and EMI Group to play their music.
Last.fm launched in 2002 and has its largest concentration of users in the United States, Britain, Germany, Poland, Brazil and Japan.
"Last.fm is one of the most well-established, fastest-growing online community networks out there," Leslie Moonves, President and Chief executive of CBS said.
"Their demographics play perfectly to CBS's goal to attract younger viewers and listeners across our businesses. Last.fm adds a terrific interactive extension to all of our properties and also is a huge step in CBS Corporation's overall strategy of expanding our reach online to transition from a content company into an audience company."
