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July 9, 2008 6:42 PM PDT

Last.fm's indie-music royalty program goes live

by Caroline McCarthy

Back in January, social music service Last.fm announced that it would be launching something called the Artist Royalty Program that allows unsigned artists to reap royalties each time one of their songs is played through the site's ad-supported streaming music feature or Web radio. (They just have to upload their music first.)

On Wednesday, the service announced that the Artist Royalty Program had gone live and that more than 450,000 tracks have been uploaded in conjunction with it.

"We're leveling the playing field by offering them the same opportunities as established bands to make money from their music," Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel said in a release Wednesday. "The young musician making music in a bedroom studio has the same chance as the latest major label signing to use Last.fm to build an audience and get rewarded.

It's also an incentive for them to promote Last.fm as a promotional hub for their music, potentially eating into a market dominated by News Corp's MySpace.

Disclaimer: Last.fm is owned by CBS Interactive, which also owns CNET News.

Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline.
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by gumpman155 July 9, 2008 10:39 PM PDT
this looks good. I have a song I might upload to this.
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by ThecounToo July 10, 2008 9:42 AM PDT
Very interesting!

Count Lombardo
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by sadchild July 10, 2008 11:18 AM PDT
feel free to help me out =)

http://www.last.fm/music/A+Simple+Complex/?autostart=1

file under: Sevendust, Alice in Chains, Godsmack, Deftones, Tool, etc.
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About The Social

CNET News' Caroline McCarthy is a downtown Manhattanite who believes that, despite popular opinion, the Web can actually help your social life. She's happily addicted to fun social-media tools from Twitter to Yelp to Facebook, sends an inordinate number of text messages, and has a tendency to waste time at the office reading restaurant blogs. Here, she explores all facets of the Web's gregarious side, as well as the unique tech culture in her home city of New York. (Don't call it Silicon Alley.)

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