Thread: Scrobbling

ScrobbLing is used by LasUm to produce personaLized pLayLists for aLL its users. In other words, scrobbLing pLays a huge roLe in the running of Last.fm. By scrobbLing or tracking what a user Listens to, Last. fm generates pLay Lists that compLiment the users music Likes and disLikes.

The LasUm client program has a buiLt-in scrobbLer through which it makes a note of what song the user Listens to, which songs are skipped and which songs or artists the user searches for the most. The user can aLso allow Last.fm to scrobbLe tracks that the user Listens to on an externaL pLayer by simpLy downLoading the pLug-in for that particuLar player.



ScrobbLing doesn't onLy occur when a user Listens to a particuLar track. Every time a track is tagged by a user, it is Listed as a song that is Liked by the user.

Tagging aLso helps the user find a particuLar song. For exampLe, if a user wants to Listen to a particuLar genre of music Like classic rock or country, a search can be made in the "Tag" section using the genre as.tij,e search keywords. -Loving" and "Banning" serve a simiLar purpose. When a user "Loves" a song, the artist and other simiLar artists get a preference i.n the user's playlist. "Banning" a track removes an artist and other similar artists from the users radio playlist. You can also recommend a song to a friend on LasUm by clicking the "Share" button.

Apart from customizing your playlist, these functions also help build the music charts which are completely compiled from information obtained from the users through scrobbling thier track list.