

CBS acquires last.fm for $280m - sharpshoot
http://mashable.com/2007/05/30/cbs-lastfm/

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ciordia9
It will be curious to see where this heads in the long run. CBS is on a tear
but will it fit their image, will they try and establish control, overall
agenda. I've enjoyed last.fm for many years supporting through paypal
donations each time I expire.

..it'll be interesting.

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imp
Does this mean that there's now a big-name company who will fight for the
repeal of the recent streaming-music royalty hike?

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ralph
Also on BBC News: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/technology/6701863.stm> .

Nice to see a London-based co. hit the headlines.

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sharpshoot
Ralph - where in the UK you based? I'm in London

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ralph
Down in cider country. Used to live in Lambeth years ago though.

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kingnothing
I don't understand what they do that is worth $70M a year.

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antirez
Worse of that, this crazy acquisitions game makes it hard for a startup with a
saner plan to succeed. A startup aiming to create a good product and try to
survive the old-nice-way charging for it needs to compete with rivals that are
not trying at all to be profitable since the goal is to burn money in order to
give everything for free and get acquired.

I think this is starting to have serious effects in the quality of web
software. An example: if email web clients has a cost, exactly like any other
real good, let's say 10$ a year that's ok for everybody, a lot of startups
could really enter the market in order to __make a better product of gmail
__(and there are a lot of ways to improve it).

This is happening at all levels. Even worse it's clear that many kind of
startups are hardly profitable with advertising. I don't like this system, and
I could say it does not seems _liberal_ to me, in the highest sense at least.

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keiretsu
sold out too cheaply. given their leadership position, they should have ask
for at least $500m

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ed
Based on what?

