Music Discussions

In the past, I wrote about my thoughts on the online service Last.fm; I’m not sure how, but I seemed to have missed one of the best features of this service. Last.fm gives away free MP3s.

Among the recommendations given by Last.fm based upon a member’s rated songs are suggested MP3s. These MP3s may be downloaded individually, however the option is also given to subscribe to the a podcast of the recommended tracks. This option is infinitely more useful than downloading each of the songs for a number of reasons.

First, manually downloading a dozen songs and importing them into your music player is not a very useful way to spend time. Second, software such as iTunes or Rhythmbox can automatically download more songs as they are recommended to you since these will appear in your podcast. I personally have my music players set to check every hour. Another reason to use the podcast is that you can have multiple computers download the music for you. For instance, both my work computer and my home computer subscribe to this podcast so I can listen to these tracks no matter where I am.

Unfortunately, finding the recommended MP3s can be a challenge. Following the instructions below will hopefully save you some time.

1. Log into Last.fm
2. Click on the words “Last.fm” in the upper left
3. Click on “Recommended” in the left navigation menu
4. Click on “Free MP3’s” in the top navigation menu
5. Click on “Podcast” on the right side
6. When the page loads, copy the URL from your web browser
7. Paste this into the podcast subscription option in your music software

I have no idea why this feature is buried so deep in the site. This is a great selling point for Last.fm and they should proudly display the subscription link at the top of every page where it is easy to access. Who knows what other features I may be missing out on.