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Business News Digital
Spotify offered to buy Last.fm, says Music Ally
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 14 May 2014
Spotify was in talks to buy Last.fm before purchasing The Echo Nest earlier this year, according to sources who spoke to Music Ally.
Exactly who broached the possibility of a sale – Spotify itself, or Last.fm parent company CBS – is not clear, but it seems that the asking price was deemed to be too high. Spotify is thought to have paid around $100 million for The Echo Nest.
One source told Music Ally: “There was an acquisition offer. It was certainly put on the block, [but] I don’t think Spotify came up with enough money. It was a low-ball offer”.
As previously reported, Spotify acquired metadata company The Echo Nest in March, stating that its aim was to improve user experience and discovery on the streaming service by bringing the two businesses together. However, in doing so, other streaming services have ditched The Echo Nest as a data partner, notably Rdio and Rhapsody.
In other Spotify news, after much delay, Spotify has now launched in Brazil. The company initially announced that it would go live in the country last September, but this was delayed by negotiations with local labels. According to ZDNet, the service is currently available on an invite-only basis.
This follows the announcement of a partnership between Rdio and Brazilian media firm Grupo Bandeirantes last month, with a view to expanding usage of that service in the country.
