One of the first big “wow” apps for the iPhone was Shazam — hold up your phone to the radio or TV and BAM, find out what song is playing. Likewise, the Last.fm iPhone app was one of the first apps in the App Store for music fans. Today Shazam and Last.fm are partnering to bring features from both services together.

When Shazam launched its premium versions, Shazam Encore and (SHAZAM)RED, last fall, it was unclear if the new features would be worth the $4.99 price tag. The new Last.fm-enhanced features significantly change the value proposition.

Here’s what you can now do with the Shazam Encore and (SHAZAM)RED apps:

– You can listen to Last.fm stations directly from your tagged Shazam tracks.

– You can create new stations from those tracks in Last.fm, provided you have the Last.fm iPhone app installed.

– You can view ticket and tour info for tagged artists with geolocation support to see when your favorite band will be near you.

To us it makes sense to combine a discovery engine like Shazam with a music aggregator like Last.fm. It takes away the need to go the extra step of researching an artist, and also lets you find other artists with similar sounds.

What do you think of the combination of these two services? Comment now!