A Web site that offers a free music-listening analysis and tasteful recommendations for users free-of-charge is a great site in my book. But during these days of widespread paranoia regarding the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), even the friendliest of Web sites can take a hit.
Hit number one: Tech Crunch published an article claiming that Last.fm leaked out countless users' listening information to the RIAA and put them at risk of being tracked down for listening to downloaded music.
The backlash: Comment after comment of I knew it! I just deleted my profile! from readers. Further backlash: Last.fm cofounder Richard Jones wrote a not-so-eloquently titled rebuttal on the Last.fm blog.
Hit number two: Tech Crunch came around with a new source who claimed that CBS, Last.fm's parent company, accidentally forfeited users' data to the RIAA. Tech Crunch said this provided Last.fm with a small loophole, meaning they could continue to say that they did not give away this information by playing the ignorance card. Also provided was a screenshot of an employee's e-mail that implied almost an unbelievable amount of bitterness and fear regarding the situation.
The backlash: Russ Garrett, a developer for Last.fm (and a Muse fan, according to his profile - score one for Russ) denied all of Tech Crunch's allegations, and further elaborated on them later on to make clear that he wasn't being dodgy with a blanket denial
as Tech Crunch put it.
Russ speculated that Tech Crunch was being taken for a ride by a source. Tech Crunch has said to have two insiders with Last.fm who had access to this information.
So, drama aside, even if Tech Crunch's allegations are true, what would it mean for Last.fm users if the RIAA did get its hands on their listening data?
TorrentFreak wrote a cohesive summary on the ins and outs of this data and how much can be taken from it. According to the summary, the biggest giveaway would be if listeners had pre-released music in their playlists, as it would almost undeniably have to be downloaded. Even then, however, it would be difficult to prove as the same song when file names can be very easily changed.
The article went on to say that the metadata found in music which is scrobbled by Last.fm (or scanned for input into the system) is very basic, very editable and very much harmless for the most part.
Likewise, the IP addresses of users are not legally allowed to be given out to third parties, such as CBS or the RIAA. Both Tech Crunch and Last.fm agreed on this.
So if someone was to break into your dorm and raid your laptop because he or she had reasonable suspicion you got your hands on the new Eminem album before its release based on your Last.fm records, he or she would be breaking more laws than you had by downloaded the songs in the first place.
Last.fm has consistently denied that it has any hidden agendas with its data. While the music data aggregator and Internet radio site may appear as a little too innocent, Last.fm has strived to make it clear that it does look at the data it receives and monitors what songs receive how many hits from listeners. It's like a voluntary survey that helps the Web site owners and listeners alike via the same tools.
But during a period when so many music listeners get their hand on tracks via questionable means, it's only expected that skepticism will abound about any site claiming to offer a great service without risk of being arrested or infected with a virus.
Much of the blame for these shenanigans can be attributed to the public's own guilt in downloading music and the RIAA's past rampages on downloaders.
Certainly, little can be done to change these feelings when it truly is a game of cat and mouse. The best way to look at the Last.fm near-scandal is from the eyes of a non-downloader (if such people still exist). Or, as my old philosophy instructor once told me, we can look at it this way: The negative traits you view in others are merely the product of your own introspection (or something like that).
Olga Kharitonova is a junior studying journalism and a reporter for The Post. E-mail her at ok137308@ohiou.edu or Last.fm-friend her at http://www.last.fm/user/olyak. 4
Opinion
Olga Kharitonova
