Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
one of these services, you not only will have access to some cool tools—you'll also add
appeal to your application for users of that service.
“Scrobbling” Tracks to Last.fm
Last.fm is a service that is designed not only to stream music to your computer or
phone, but also to learn about your preferences intelligently. One way it does this is by
allowing multiple devices (i.e., iOS devices and android phones where the Last.fm client
is installed) to send listened track information to Last.fm, a process Last.fm refers to as
'scrobbling'. For instance, I use Google Music to listen to my music collection through
my browser. By using an extension for Chrome that scrobbles my tracks to Last.fm, I
can view my listening behavior later, and Last.fm knows what sorts of music I like to
listen to (Figure 11-11).
Figure 11-11.
My Last.fm recently listened to tracks
Once a track is recorded, it informs Last.fm about my listening habits. This is useful in
telling Last.fm what to recommend to me, and it allows me to find new music I might
like.
