Last.fm gets a makeover, but can't stay standing

A look at the new Last.fm homepage.

(Credit: Last.fm)

Social music site Last.fm has unveiled a new look: a slick new design, an iPhone app, a partnership with Logitech to stream music to compatible home stereo systems, and a host of new features.

With the new features, members can receive music recommendations instantly by naming a few bands and artists they like. Previously, they had to hook up their music libraries so that the site's engine, or "scrobbler," could read and analyze what songs they'd listened to recently. The site's music charts now also update in near-real time.

Unfortunately, when I tried to load the new Last.fm, the site had crashed. TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld said he experienced problems, too. (Update at 12:33 p.m. PDT: the site loads but unreliably.)

That said, we certainly have seen recently that server outages aren't limited to Twitter. Ironically, I managed to get Last.fm's iPhone app working just fine.

(Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CNET News parent company CBS Interactive.)

[chuckdafonk]

Also it looks like the content management / promotion / statistic tool for artists, known as "Music Manager" has gone missing in the redesign. I have an email into their help group to see what the deal is. And also the music players are not loading on user pages.

[chuckdafonk]

The "Music Manager" feature has finally been restored, under the redesign.

Why didn't they notify users and artists in advance of the redesign so we could have our heads up for it though ? User education is always helpful...

[chlamydia-test]

Glad it's been restored. Thanks for the heads up.

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