Last.fm will start charging listeners outside of the UK, USA and Germany.

Internet music streaming and social website Last.fm has announced it is to start charging listeners outside Germany, the UK and the USA.

Users listening to Last.fm Radio outside of those three countries will now have to pay a monthly subscription fee of €3.00 (£2.80) from 30 March. Only the music streaming will require subscription; everything else on the website, such as biographies, videos and events, will remain free of charge.

Last.fm will also offer a 30 track free trial to encourage users to subscribe to the streaming music content.

The statement was made by Last.fm Co-Founder, Richard Jones, on the website’s blog. The announcement has already had a huge number of comments with many users reacting negatively to the news. Some even threaten moving to competitors such as Spotify and Deezer.

Last.fm team member, Matthew Ogle, responds to questions posed by users in the blog and states that “it was a business decision.”

He goes on to add: “But after looking at our resources and opportunities we think it’s the best way to keep improving Last.fm radio (and also support all the other free services on Last.fm).”

The exclusion of the UK, USA and Germany from the subscription fee has caused some anger amongst users but Last.fm explains that its existing sales force would cover licensing costs for those select countries. Costs in other countries would have to be covered by subscription.

The company said: “While we would like to provide the same service for users of all countries – the world is a huge place and it’s not cheap to deliver music over the internet.

“By offering different services to different regions, we are in a better position to continue to deliver service and adapt it to the different needs of our users around the world.”