As I have reported in previous journal entries Last.fm's Web traffic has fallen sharply since it redesigned its Web site. The October numbers are in. The good news for Last.fm is that their Web traffic in October didn't fall as much as it had in September and August. The bad news is that it did still fall even farther and now Last.fm Web traffic is 32-35% (depending on the exact metric) than before their redesign.

Three months after launch the new Last.fm design has one-third fewer users than the old design. The people have spoken.

I received the September Web stats from my friend in the Web site biz (see August stats here) In every measure of Web traffic - visitors, unique visitors, return visitors, page views, page views per visitor, and length of time spent on page, Last.fm is now down over 28% since their site redesign. On the crucial metric used by advertisers-page views-Last.fm is down over 31%.

On that issue, my friend made the following interesting comment in his e-mail:

Last.fm's page views are down over 30% from June 2008, the last month of their old Web site. The stock market hasn't…

I have been interested in how Last.fm has been faring since their July "redesign" since someone had posted awhile back that Alexa was showing a significant drop in Web traffic for Last.fm. As I mentioned in that thread, Alexa is not a comprehensive survey of Web use because it lacks a sound methodology. Though, fun fact: confirming what most of you know, Alex reports that last.fm is "Very Slow (96% of sites are faster)" - see for yourself - contradicting what the staff and moderators have been saying.

A friend of mine works for an Internet design and marketing company.…

The may ban me for suggesting this but here it goes.

Okay, Last.fm has shown little sign of caring about what its customers have to say. The new CBS corporate landlords are not going to change. So perhaps a new approach is in order.

The main, if not only, reason any of us in this group have stayed is that there is not another Web site like Last.fm that is a community built around scrobbling of tracks. iLike.com is the only thing even close to my knowledge but it lacks the most important thing – charts based on YOUR artists,…

I know my station playlist really well and my scrobbling captures only what is actually Webcast on World Fusion Radio. So I know that the Library track listings on albums are very inaccurate. Here is just one example:

http://www.last.fm/user/WorldFusionRadio_com/library/music/Sientific+American

Though there is no note of over what timeframe these counts are, I know I have never played "Introduction" because it is not a full track, yet the Library says I played it 17 times. Six tracks from this artist I have played are not on the list, so it is missing over 150 plays on this artist alone just in…

I find the defenses of the new layout curious. They basically come down to: "It's change" and "people always complain" and "you will get used to it in time" Not a convincing argument much less a constructive response.

The outrage Last.fm is seeing is real and with substantial justification and they dismiss at their own peril. I have been a very heavy Internet user since 1994 back when we all thought an image tag was cool. I can say without hesitation that I have seldom if ever seen a new Web site design be less suited for the site's intended…

Um, why change the site?

Wow, this new layout is ridiculous, ugly, horrible, crappy, awful, hideous, and just plain bad. What the hell is this nonsense? I use Last.fm heavily to meet artists and listeners. I am seriously rethinking that now if this is how awful Last.fm is going to look and behave now. What idiot Web designer with a MySpace fetish told last.fm this would be a good idea? And why was Last.fm listening???? Oh, and I am sure I speak for a lot of people when I say I really don't appreciate having this shoved down my throat.…

Six Degrees Records has just announced the Return of the Asian Massive Tour with MIDIval PunditZ and Karsh Kale. It is an abbreviated tour with only nine dates spread across North America. If you are lucky enough to be in one of the metro areas you definitely have to catch this show with two of the best world fusion acts going. The last date, being on Cheb i Sabbah's home turf, has him joining in. Now that's pure nirvana.

Tour Dates
June 26th - SOB's - New York, NY
June 28th - MassMoca - North Adams, MA
July…

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta,…

Just received my advanced copy of the new "Gods and Monsters" tracks from the publicist. Street date is April 22. Interesting stuff. Much more vocal oriented than Juno Reactor has been in the past and also surprisingly orchestral and "prog rock." The instrumentation is mostly strings, guitars, and acoustic drums not synths. Definitely a departure but open minded people will find things to like here.

"Tanta Pena" is one of the few tracks that evoke the "psy-trance" Juno Reactor most people are familiar with. "Las Vegas Future Past" is eerie goth/industrial, reminiscent of "Beyond the Infinite." "Inca Steppe"…