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Least not Last in Internet radio stakes
• Last.fm founders net million fortunes in sale to CBS
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 On the Web |
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By
Lady Tek-ee, Contributing editor
Friday,
22 June, 2007
US Broadcasting giant CBS has snapped up last.fm, the London based social networking and internet radio site, for £142m, turning the three young founders into multi-millionaires overnight.
Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Richard "Mr Scrobble" Jones have each received £19m from the sales, with Index Ventures, their venture capital backers getting £28m for its stake and fellow backer Stefan Glaenzer £23m.
Last.fm brings togther people with similar musical tastes and recommends new songs and artists to them. The site then allows users to lsten to this music over the internet thanks to partnershps with EMI and Warner Music.
Since it was launched in 2002 the site has attracted 15m active users around the world.
Miller and Stiksels had been working on a number of internet radio projects when they read a newspaper article about Miller's concept for sharing music on line. After a visit to Southampton they persuaded him to join them in London to develop it into last.fm with Miller living in a tent on the roof of the others' digs in Whitechapel in London.
CBS plans to use its sales team to leverage advertising revenue for the site and has recognised that it must increase its online presence if it is to attract a new generation of viewers.
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