SONGPEOPLE.CO.UK LISTEN. RATE. WIN

Fans who have been getting their fill of Alain through his profile on Last.fm will be saddened to learn that the site is about to implement usage charges for residents outside of the UK, the US, and Germany. 

This means that these fans will no longer have access to about a hundred tracks on Alain’s Last.fm page without paying 3 Euros per month.  These tracks include the single “Father & Friend” (which is also the current most-played track there), and songs in Alain’s native Dutch like the almost equally popular “Heerlijk.”

Though users will have to pay to stream tracks on any artist’s profile, features like artist biography, photos, videos, Last.fm listener charts, and the site’s “scrobbling” feature will remain free for all to access on the site.  This is good news for fans with doubts about having to pay a fee to stream the plethora of Alain’s soul pop music on the site – his profile is home to a decent amount of high quality music videos for songs like “Blow Me Away,” and “Mind of a Woman.” The singer’s Last.fm profile is also home to a number of live performance videos, like the one for “Live It Out,” the title track of his upcoming album.

There is a general animosity toward this business move from users that it applies to, many of whom are threatening to delete their accounts rather than pay 3 Euros per month for the service.  Officials from the site told the BBC that though this was indeed a move for profit, they hope that the increased revenue will help improve the site as a whole.  Licensing for the site, they say, is pricey when considered on an international level, and the increased revenue will be much appreciated. The licensing for the countries that the subscription fee does not apply to, however, will be footed by the site as well as its parent company, CBS.