Corporate rock sucks #13: Last.fm and Sony

So last.fm have struck a deal with ugly major Sony (you know the same Sony who care so little for their customers that surreptitiously install damaging software onto their computers) - now I understand that last.fm is part of a major corporate media group and that jumping into bed with major labels was the inevitable next step but this quote from Thomas Hesse of Sony BMG was worrying...

The Last.fm streaming service will give our established artists a platform through which they can reach new audiences, and its unique recommendation system will provide our emerging artists with an important opportunity to build their fan base

So they plan to use last.fm's recommendation system to promote their emerging acts...so the recommendation system isn't (or won't be) a genuine one but more a promotional/advertising platform for Sony? And at what cost? Independent labels? Artists not aligned with a record company? The customers who can no longer trust that the recommendations were made for valid reasons?

To be honest the CBS thing, and then the non-silence on the Day of Silence (although I'll admit that this wasn't quite a black and white issue), and now this have really saddened me. I like to think a community based site would care for its community - I'm finding it more and more difficult to believe that last.fm do.