Last.fm Brings Back Part of the Album Jacket With Song Lyrics

Posted by Mashable in Wednesday, October 8th 2008

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The Internet radio and on-demand streaming music service Last.fm is host to over 5 million songs spanning numerous independent and big-name studios and publishers. So today’s unveiling of a partnership with LyricFind to insert some 800,000 lyrics among Last.fm’s song catalog isn’t a full sweep. Yet it includes many popular artists old and new, from The Beatles to Pearl Jam to Radiohead, enough to satisfy plenty of listeners.

However, a concern for listeners may be the position given to lyrics relative to other features. For instance, if you visit an artist’s main page on Last.fm, you’ll find biographical information, a music player, followed by recommended material as well as sections home to videos, albums, top tracks, and the comment roll. A link for lyrics isn’t evident. Neither is it visible with a specific album page in view. Users are required to drill down to an individual song page to see a lyrical preview (if it exists). One more click will bring you to the full transcript.

Despite this structural makeup, Last.fm’s deal with LyricFind - launched for U.S.- and Canada-based listeners first, to be followed by more places “in the near future” - is worthwhile if only to give visitors an impression of a complete experience. The site has worked to do so with audio and video. Lyrics simply help to finish the picture.

For the time being, Last.fm does not display advertising beside each full lyric, but just as with real estate elsewhere in its archives, it will invite advertisers and sponsors to make themselves seen alongside text provided to users. This will involve “the ability to skin the entire page.”