Last.FM announced via their blog an amazing new business model. First off, they have gotten clearance for the big four major labels (Warner, EMI, Universal and Sony, in addition to a ton of indies) to stream their catalogs on the site. In addition to that, they announced they will be paying unsigned artists to upload their music:
We already have licenses with the various royalty collection societies, but now unsigned artists can put their music on Last.fm and be paid directly for every song played. This helps to level the playing-field—now you can make music, upload it to Last.fm and earn money for each play. If you make music, you can sign up to participate for free.
This could be huge! For all those not familiar with Last.FM, it is a streaming radio station site, which lets you download a "Scrobbler" that tracks all the music you play via iTunes or WinAmp and then makes recommendations based on the artists you play. You can visit their site and stream the music right there.
