[mb-users] Last.fm launches audio fingerprinting stuff

[Robert Kaye]

On Aug 30, 2007, at 9:59 AM, artysmokes wrote:

>
> Thanks for bringing this to the attention of the mailing list. For  
> me, the
> key comment is not one of the quotes you helpfully highlighted, but  
> this
> one: "I take it this means MusicBrainz is officially toast?" -  
> Nectar_Card
> (29 August, 20:09)
> That question has pointedly not been answered by LastFM HQ.
> I've feared for a while that MBz would be marginalized in this way.  
> Further
> clarification is definitely required from both parties.

I personally think that last.fm and MusicBrainz should play to their  
respective strengths.

Last.fm should focus on its music recommendation/discovery services  
and MusicBrainz should focus on grooming a useful music metadata  
database/encyclopedia.

While I can't rule out that last.fm won't decide to jump into the  
music metadata business and displace MusicBrainz, I think that is not  
part of last.fm's overall goals. If it were, why would they be paying  
MusicBrainz for a live data feed license? If last.fm wanted to  
displace MusicBrainz, it could simply take the free Public Domain  
data dump and start on its journey of marginalizing MusicBrainz.

Ignore all rumors of MusicBrainz' impending demise. :-)

Now that we have big-time customers (and there are more coming!)  
we're finally getting the flexibility and leeway to undertake some of  
grand ideas we've been talking about for so long. Personally, I think  
we're just getting our groove on.

<cheezy>
That reminds me, back in the early days of MusicBrainz, I would tell  
people that we need to first crawl, then walk, then run and then  
focus on flying. Now, many years on, I think that MusicBrainz is  
starting to get into a light jog. Soon we'll be running and that will  
let us cover more ground to search for feathers that will let us  
build our wings which will take us to the sky!
</cheezy>

--

--ruaok      Somewhere in Texas a village is *still* missing its idiot.

Robert Kaye     --     rob at eorbit.net     --    http://mayhem-chaos.net