2002: Last.fm and Audioscrobbler Herald the Social Web

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Last.fm and Audioscrobbler pioneered social music recommendations in 2002 using collaborative filtering.
Last.fm, founded by Austrian and German students, built a 'Map of Music' based on user listening profiles.
Audioscrobbler, created by Richard Jones, tracked listening habits to generate recommendations.
Both services merged, emphasizing user data for personalized music discovery.
Early challenges included music licensing restrictions, limiting playback to 30-second samples.
Last.fm evolved into an online radio service by addressing legal issues with licensing fees.
These platforms laid the groundwork for the social web and streaming revolution.

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