Last.fm separates from Paramount Skydance to operate as independent entity

Last.fm has announced it is now an independent company, ending its tenure under CBS Interactive, a subsidiary of the merged Paramount Skydance Corporation. The service, originally acquired by CBS for $280 million in 2007, confirmed the ownership change on its forum, stating that while the corporate structure has shifted, the product functionality remains unchanged for users.

The platform will retain its current team and ensure that user profiles, scrobbles, data, privacy settings, and Pro subscriptions remain intact. Scrobbles, which are recorded song plays, will continue to be logged to user profiles for tracking purposes. Billing information for premium features is also being preserved, with the company assuring users that the service will operate exactly as it did previously during the transition period.

Last.fm began as an internet radio station in 2002, introducing its scrobbling feature a few years later after merging with the team that created the tracking process. The service operates by logging plays from third-party platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music. In 2014, Last.fm discontinued its $3-a-month subscription radio service to pivot towards this cross-platform tracking model.

The specific identity of the new owners has not been disclosed in the announcement. Last.fm has promised to share more details about the transition in the coming weeks, but for now, the platform continues to track listening habits across connected apps without immediate changes to its functionality.

CBS Interactive, which previously owned the service, is now part of the merged Paramount Skydance Corporation. The separation marks the end of nearly two decades of ownership under the CBS umbrella, returning the music tracking website to an independent status after its initial launch as a standalone internet radio station.