Last.fm Founders Quit, CBS' Goodman GM For Now; But Why?
This story was written by Robert Andrews.
Last.fm's founding trio is leaving the social music site, a few weeks its parent reorganised it in a new CBS Interactive Music Group. Martin Stiksel (pictured), Felix Miller and Richard Jones announced their decision in a blog post: "After two years running Last.fm within CBS (NYSE: CBS). we feel the time is right to begin the process of handing over the reins ... It's been a privilege working with the incredible team here in our London office"
They left no word of a successor, their reasons for the departure, nor what they're plans are. We've asked CBS, while Jones wrote they will first have 'a much needed holiday': "Last.fm is in good hands and is all set for the future.". Stiksel and Miller told me the music group's new president David Goodman will serve as interim GM but the company will seek a new permanent GM; it's not yet known whether that person will be New York- or London-based.
Why the exit? Some ideas after the jump ...
The site announced its sale to CBS on May 30, 2007 - so near to the two-year anniversary, could the trio's departure have been planned as part of a two-year earnout? Miller told me this was merely a "coincidence". Stiksel: "There was no time limit or restriction on us having to stay with Last.fm after the acquisition - we just wanted to set it up in the best possible way."
One of the three founders started the site while at university and all have been firm fixtures of London's Shoreditch trendy-tech scene. CBS president Leslie Moonves once told me: "They're a great bunch of guys and very different from your usual CBS execs - they wear torn t-shirts and don't wear ties." Could the culture clash have proved too great for both sides? CBS in December had Last.fm lay off 20 staff, a fifth of its total - not cool. Stiksel told me: "He never told us off - we were still never asked to shave. The fact we're so massive now has raised the stakes all around us - the culture had changed any way; it morphed out of our own little project to something that reaches over 30 million users every month."
CBS has been trying to take greater control of Last.fm on its side of the Atlantic. After CBS Radio already began adding its streams to Last.fm last year, CBS in May created the Interactive Music Group to properly bring the outfits closer together. Does the trio's parting shout-out to their London colleagues suggest a growing friction with their paymasters across the Atlantic in New York? Miller: "Name me any job that isn't difficult sometimes."
Those allegations CBS handed Last.fm user data to the RIAA. If CBS ever did, it's certain this would ruffle the trio's feathers - but both camps have now denied the story multiple times. Stiksel again told me: "It's total rubbish - it's not based on anything in fact whatsoever."
The three did a rare big interview with Guardian.co.uk last week (what now looks like an effort to write their legacy), when Jones conceded: "Something we've struggled with is the balance between making it more mainstream and accessible, and with our core users, who are hardcore technocrats."
Jones had developed the AudioScrobbler that underpins Last.fm's listener tracking, marrying it with Stiksel and Miller's Last.fm in 2003. CBS bought the site for $280 million and, whilst traffic has now reached 37.3 million monthly uniques and Last.fm hs worked with CBS Radio on marketing its brands through the site, it's fair to say the one big potential payoff - that Last.fm could help CBS scrobble its TV business - has not yet materialised.
(Photo: Moo.com's Richard Moross, some rights reserved)
By Robert Andrews