Last.fm mobile submission script

[TJOHO]

Sorry if this post is misplaced, I've looked around the forum for relevant threads to post in, but to no avail.

My problem is that music I listen to on my Creative Zen Vision: M is not submitted to Last.fm. I know iPod users have some scrobbler-apps that take care of it, but us individualists are left out in the cold.

When you sync your iPod or non-iPod device with MM, is it possible for a script to recognize which songs have been played on the device (the playcount is updated anyway, so I don't see why not), and then cue them for submission to last.fm?

The thing is, I want my songs registered to last.fm, but I don't want them played in MM, messing up the playcount stats (and thereby ratings, I use the AutoRateAccurate script). My workaround right now is that I play them in Winamp, using Winamp purely as a "submission app" for what I've listened to on the Zen.

I read somewhere that there are scripts you can use to manipulate play counts, but I haven't really found out which they are. I guess I could use MM to submit the tracks, and then use a script to adjust the playcounts, but that is just as kludgy.

Just an idea if someone is up for the challenge! I know there would be many happy people out there if such a script existed.

[Steegy]

I've made such a working application (.Net) about a year ago, but I've never really used it. I asked myself, why actually care about the tracks I previously played on MediaMonkey but not submitted to Last.fm? These kind of programs (including mine) must obey to the submission rules, what means that everything has to be submitted after the latest submission, and that there has to be a certain amount of time between them. This makes that it all takes a long time to get Last.fm up-to-date, and that the time-info is completely wrong (only the play counts are correct, yipee! ...).

So first be sure that you really really want such thing.

[TJOHO]

@Steegy:
I'm not sure you understood what I meant. Not "the tracks I previously played on MediaMonkey but not submitted to Last.fm", but "tracks I played on a portable device, so they could not be submitted to last.fm".

I don't care what the time-info is on last.fm, only in MM (because of RatingsAutoAccurate script, and various stats), so as long as the tracks are submitted, I don't care when.

So, yes, what I want is a script that somehow manages to

1. Find the tracks that I have played on my portable device since last sync.
2. Submit them to last.fm.
3. But without playing them in MM.

Whether they are cued for submission before the ones I start playing in MM or after, I don't care. As I said, all I want from last.fm is for every track to be submitted (and reasonably within time, i.e. the same week).

Does your application do that?

[tinana]

Oh heck, the ability so submit tracks-played info to last.fm from a portable player other-than-ipod, to me, is the dang Holy Grail of scripts.

I SO do not want to *settle* for any iThing, and yet I've found myself such a slave to play stats lately that the whole dilemma is causing conniptions.

And yea, I know about the iAudio X5, but I'd like a flash-based player for hiking/jogging/working out.

Man, tell me what TJOHO is proposing is doable.

[Teknojnky]

I'm not sure that many mp3 players track when they play tracks. If they did and MM can access this information, then perhaps its possible... but I don't know.

[TJOHO]

I'm not sure that many mp3 players track when they play tracks. If they did and MM can access this information, then perhaps its possible... but I don't know.

I'm not proposing an accurate dating of tracks, I too doubt that is possible. As already stated, I'm not after accurate dating on last.fm, just that every track is counted - whether played in MM or on a portable device.

The script, then, does not have to access the time when a player played a track, only that it has been played. I know for a fact that MM can do this with my Zen, as it updates play counts when I sync.

The script only needs to take that data (play counts since last sync) to create a list of songs that need to be submitted to last.fm.

[Big_Berny]

I don't think that this is allowed by last.fm due hack and manipulation risk. They want accurate datings (this is why the songs played ipod on the ipod only will be uploaded once (lastdate)).

Big_Berny

[Steegy]

It is "allowed" if you stick to the submission rules.

[TJOHO]

Right, the sticky point is how to submit the tracks following the rules (i.e. not triggering their spam protection).

If I have listened to an hour of music on my portable device, it is possible that the script would have to "take over" MM for an hour to submit the tracks (but again, without raising the playcount of the tracks in question one more time).
That is certainly inconvenient, but to live with if one can define when it should go to "submission mode". Like this:

1. The portable syncs with MM, and the script creates a list of tracks to submit to last.fm. It could pop up a prompt: "There are X songs played, do you want to start submitting to last.fm? While submitting, you cannot listen to other music, or tracks will not be submitted"
2. If the user decides to wait, there could be a button or shortcut to activate the submission process later. Typically, I could do that while I am on a lunch break anyway.
That's what I do now; I write down what songs I have listened to on my portable, and when I go to lunch, I set Winamp to submit those songs to last.fm. I'd just prefer not having to write down everything (sometimes I forget), and to use a different app just for submission.

[tinana]

In the Last.fm forums there was a proposed remedy for the time stamp problem. I'll check there later to see if I can find the exact thread again, but off the top of my head I think someone suggested incorporating in a script the ability to automatically assign arbitrary play times to tracks submitted, so that instead of uploading a block of play stats at once and having them rejected by last.fm as spam, each track would be assigned a time separated by 3, 4, etc minute intervals.

[Steegy]

In the Last.fm forums there was a proposed remedy for the time stamp problem. I'll check there later to see if I can find the exact thread again, but off the top of my head I think someone suggested incorporating in a script the ability to automatically assign arbitrary play times to tracks submitted, so that instead of uploading a block of play stats at once and having them rejected by last.fm as spam, each track would be assigned a time separated by 3, 4, etc minute intervals.

Well that's kind of a logical solution isn't it? My program does this too.
The problem is that I don't know very well anymore what my program does (and I don't really have time+desire to look right now), and that it's a program (not a script). It's quite "basic" code so it could be implemented by a script too.

[Volition]

Hmmmm, Interesting thread i'm interested in making my last fm more accurate. including my zen plays. Hmmm, Could we not send a scheduled task.

Yes i would like something like this. Geez not in a perfect world again.

My post something to last fm for some support.

Will get back to you

[Scimbris]

http://www.last.fm/group/Zenses

Check out Zenses, free program does exactly what your thinking of, I think.

The times won't work, obviously, and unfortunately there's a bug with the Vision: M that adds extra play counts, but they're working on it.

[Volition]

Thaks scimbris,

Just the kind of thing i was looking for. Excellent.

Now we need someone with the expertise and i suppose desire to use that code and make a MM plugin out of it.

Take care,

Vol.

[Guest]

I see that Zenses is no longer in development. Has anyone come up with a solution that incorporates the Zenses functionality into Media Monkey?