Rumor – iTunes 9 To Support Last.fm
Mashable reports (by way of Boy Genius Report) that the Apple’s upcoming release of iTunes 9 mayinclude several exciting new features, including some kind of Last.fm integration.
Details are unclear, but it is possible that this integration may include support for Last.fm’s Scrobbler, allowing listening data from iTunes users to be added to Last.fm’s ginourmous database. Again, this is only a guess based on a rumor.
While it is currently possible to manually add the Last.fm Scrobbler to iTunes, native inclusion will greatly increase the amount of data available to Last.fm’s recommendation system. Check out “Finding New Fans With Recommendation Systems” for why this is a good thing for independent musicians.
For independent musicians on Last.fm (and if you’re an independent musician who’s not on Last.fm… what are you waiting for?), this development offers a lot of potential. Any iTunes user who listens to your music will soon be reporting data to the Last.fm recommendation network about similar artists and music – leading to more users discovering your music. And there are literally hundreds of millions of iTunes users worldwide.
Not only that, but iTunes is included with the iPhone. Apple has sold over 20 million iPhones since it launched in 2007 (5 million last quarter alone). With three-quarters of iPhones users listening to music on their phones, independent musicians may soon find breaking into the mobile music market just a little bit easier.
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