that was the start of the downfall. they launched a "beta" version a couple years ago that stripped the site of most of its (best) features in favor of an incomplete but slicker design. they've yet to take the site out of the supposed beta and restore most of those features. scrobbling is one of the few user features remaining (as it should be, considering it is the core feature and reason for being).
if you look where the site admin communicate, it looks like the platform is abandoned. some of those features were supposed to have returned a year or two ago. i expect one day i'll check my plays and find the site gone.
3. "The story is really troubling" In response to Reply # 0
It's bad enough that usage data is shared with companies and organizations that a user isn't aware of, but to then take the data without consent is invasive.
The $5M amount is way too low. A higher figure ought to be granted in order to set a precedent in similar cases.