It’s not all that unusual to see happen in the tech world. Startups – well start up, they get some big buzz, end up getting bought by a company with big wallets (if they don’t deadpool first) only to have the people who started the company decide it’s time for green pastures. Such is the case it would seem with the founders of Last.fm who have announced that they have resigned.
In the words of Felix Miller, Richard Jones and Martin Stiksel – “After two years running Last.fm within CBS we feel the time is right to begin the process of handing over the reins”.
No-one is saying whether the recent accusations of Last.fm user data making its way into the hands of the RIAA, either at the behest of CBS or through them directly, has any bearing on the three gentlemen leaving at this time.
From the announcement on the Last.fm blog
After two years running Last.fm within CBS we feel the time is right to begin the process of handing over the reins. This is the latest stage in a long journey for us founders, which began in a living room in East London in 2002, and took us to the headquarters of one of the biggest media companies in the world.
It’s been a privilege working with the incredible team here in our London office, and we’re extremely proud of what we’ve achieved together. Last.fm’s users have more than doubled in the last 12 months (we are now at an all-time high of 37.3M monthly unique visitors), and we’re confident the site will continue to go from strength to strength. Being a part of CBS, and the recently formed CBSi music group, continues to open up many opportunities for Last.fm. Recent product releases such as the new visual radio, and the Last.fm on XBox announcement, are an indication of how much more Last.fm will achieve.
A huge “Thank You!” has to be said to all of you in front of your computers. With your contribution, enthusiasm and scrobbles you have helped to make Last.fm into what it is today: the best place for music online. Big up yourself for that, as we say here in East London.
That’s all folks, we are going to miss you!
Felix, RJ and Martin
It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of effect this is going to have on Last.fm – will they get totally sucked into the corporate culture or will they be able to keep that strong brand identity they have built up?