We weren’t kidding when we reported last week that free music is the future. Teaming up with all four major record labels, Last.fm www.last.fm now offers free, on-demand access to the largest licensed catalog of music making it the “greatest jukebox in the world,” Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel boasts. Besides Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG, Warner and EMI, Last.fm has partnerships with CD Baby, IODA, the Orchard, Naxos and more than 150,000 independent labels and artists.

But let’s not get too excited, we’re talking free streaming, not free downloads. And you can only stream any song three times. At that point you got the option to purchase the download from its “affiliate partners,” iTunes, Amazon and 7 Digital.

But here’s the real good news for all those unsigned bands out there: you got a chance to make some cash. The advertiser-supported Last.fm will offer an “artist royalty” arrangement, where unsigned artists can upload their music and get paid directly from Last.fm every time one of their tracks is played.

"We're building a platform to help redesign the music economy, enabling artists and labels to earn revenue according to how people listen, rather than how they buy," said Last.fm's other co-founder, Felix Miller. "Now we can offer the arrangement to unsigned music creators too. For the first time, anyone can upload tracks and get paid when those tracks are played." [CNN Money]