Blog

Australian IT JOBS : Sydney IT jobs, UNIX jobs, Linux jobs, Java jobs, ASP jobs Linux.conf.au Linux.conf.au
Technology news and Jobs arrow Fuzzy Logic arrow LALA.com says it sings iPod tune while streaming
LALA.com says it sings iPod tune while streaming PDF Print E-mail
Written by Alex Zaharov-Reutt   
Wednesday, 06 June 2007
New music website LALA.com says it has a new web based service that lets you upload your iTunes music library and stream it over the web, free of charge – but nowhere does it say if it really does work with Fairplay DRM tracks!

Want to have your iTunes music collection available to you through the web, wherever you are? What about buying music from somewhere besides iTunes – and having that software ‘fill your iPod’ with music?

LALA.com say they’re the answer, allowing you to even share your music collection with anyone you want, while providing a web based interface to both buy music, and through LALA.com, load it onto your USB connected iPod without the need for iTunes at all.

Bill Nguyen, one of LALA.com’s founders, said: “Before today music was ripped and trapped on PCs and Macs with desktop applications like iTunes. The iPod is the greatest portable music device ever invented, and as avid iPod fans we wanted to create a service that blends the convenience of the Web with the portability and functionality of a truly universal platform. Lala unleashes the Web's power for playing music and safely sharing songs without the threat of PC viruses, spyware and other risks that are present on illegal P2P sites.”

LALA.com say they have a beta version ready which lets users hosting, play or discover new music. In addition, LALA say they’ve reached an “agreement in principal with Warner Music Group (WMG) to make WMG's content available on the site”.

LALA quoted IDC analyst Susan Kovorkian as saying that: “Deploying more effective and creative strategies to drive music sales is of the utmost importance for the music industry today. Next-generation online music services like LALA.COM add a fresh twist to the online music shopping experience by combining the reach and flexibility of the Internet with compelling music discovery options and addressing the massive installed base of Apple's iPod.”

LALA says that when you listen to your music, or that of a friend, or when you try before you buy, that LALA will pay whatever streaming royalty fees need to be paid, in the hope that when you next decide to buy music, that you buy it through LALA, with purchases starting at US 0.99c per track, while you also get the ability to ‘future proof’ your digital music on a physical CD with fees starting at US $2.99.

Given that LALA.com is a music store that is trying to be different, they’ll be offering you the change to hear not just a 30 second snippet of the latest from Warner Music Group, but instead the full song, which really is letting you try before you buy.

That said, Warner is the only music studio so far to have come to an arrangement to let users listen to entire Warner music tracks free before purchase, instead of the normal 30 second snippet.
How successful LALA.com will ultimately become is hard to see, but for now, the software and website will generate some waves, especially in the wake of the iPhone and its own iTunes integration.

For now, LALA.com works with XP, Vista, Mac OS X, iTunes 7, Microsoft IE6 and 7, and Firefox 2.0 and later.
{moscomment}


Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now
When you subscribe get a 12 months license for LiveProject
Valued at $99 USD


LiveWire - Desktop alerts Download the FREE iTWire desktop alert widget LiveWire - Desktop alerts


Del.icio.us!
 
< Prev   Next >
Contact , Register , Advertise with iTWire , Links , Register , About iTWire , Feedback , Post your jobs , Events , iTWire site map , Start Blogging
Industry Releases , Submit your release now , Start submitting to iTWire , How to post video