Staff get the chop at London's web 2.0 poster child

CBS makes cuts at Last.fm

By Chris Williams • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 12th December 2008 13:44 GMT

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CBS has layed off about 20 per cent of staff at music site Last.fm, the poster child for would-be web 2.0 millionaires in the UK.

As part of cuts across CBS' online properties, about 20 of Last.fm's 95 staff received the bad news yesterday, according to reports. Last.fm spokesman Christian Ward declined to comment.

CBS paid $280m for the unprofitable Shoreditch-based start-up in the frothier days of May 2007 as part of a big online push, betting that ad revenues would grow. It was founded by Martin Skitsel and Felix Miller in 2002 as an personalised internet radio service. They incorporated Richard Jones' Audioscrobbler in 2005, which allows users to log their listening habits.

All three became millionaires as a result of the sale.

The acquisition spree that brought Last.fm into CBS' Interactive division also saw it pay $1.8bn for CNet. Staff at CNet sites, including ZDnet UK, are also being made redundant. ®

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