Last.fm Cuts Losses During 2013 But Still Ends Up $3.4 million In The Hole

Things aren't looking so hot over at Last.fm, the London-based music site. The company posted an overall loss of $3.4 million during 2013, according to a report from Companies House.

Revenues were down from $10.3 million to $7.9 million and the company also cut its staff from 61 to 35. Most of the positions cut were technical roles.

Almost all of the categories imaginable featured losses from 2012 to 2013. Advertising revenues took a hit, dropping from $7 million to $5.7 million, while subscription revenues fell from $2.6 million two years ago to $1.8 million last year. The problems seem to stretch the world over. Revenues fell more than $1 million in the service's homeland of the UK, from $2.1 million to $1.1 million, and from $5.8 million in the United States to $4.5 million. The largest drop, at least in terms of percentages, came from the site's sales in the rest of the world outside of Europe and the United States, where revenues fell from $1.2 million to a mere $465,000.

The one exception to the rule was mainland Europe however. Although the use of Last.fm seems to be dropping off in the UK, revenues in the rest of Europe rose by $500,000, up from $1.3 million to $1.8 million. That, of course, is not nearly enough to make up for the losses elsewhere.

Still, the net loss of $3.4 million is actually an improvement from the year before. Between 2011 and 2012 the company lost a combined $6.3 million. Part of that comes on the movement away from its own subscription radio service and into collaborations with other services such as Spotify and Vevo. Although those moves have certainly cut losses dramatically, the change hasn't been enough to turn a profit.

We'll see how much longer Last.fm is for this world.