Lala (website)

Lala was an online music store that operated in the United States from 2006 until its closure in 2010. It was known for its innovative approach to digital music distribution, allowing users to stream, purchase, and trade music through its website. Lala's unique features and business model made it a notable entity in the digital music industry during its brief existence.

History[edit | edit source]

Lala was founded in 2006 with the goal of creating a new way for people to discover, share, and buy music online. The service initially started as a CD trading platform, where users could swap physical CDs with others for a small fee. However, recognizing the shift towards digital music consumption, Lala evolved its business model to focus on streaming and digital sales.

In 2009, Apple acquired Lala, which led to speculation about how the technology and expertise from Lala would be integrated into Apple's own digital music offerings. The acquisition was seen as a strategic move by Apple to enhance its iTunes service and to possibly develop a cloud-based music service. Lala ceased operations on May 31, 2010, and its technology played a role in the development of Apple Music, launched in 2015.

Features[edit | edit source]

Lala's platform offered several innovative features that distinguished it from other music services at the time:

- Music Streaming: Users could listen to full-length tracks once for free, after which they had the option to purchase web-based streaming rights for a nominal fee. This allowed for unlimited online streaming of purchased tracks. - MP3 Purchases: Lala also offered the option to buy MP3 downloads, which could be played on any device without digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. - Music Locker: One of Lala's forward-thinking features was its music locker service, which allowed users to upload their music collection to the cloud. This made their music accessible from any internet-connected device. - Music Trading: In its early days, Lala allowed users to trade physical CDs with others through the mail, a feature that was phased out as the service focused more on digital music.

Impact and Legacy[edit | edit source]

Lala was ahead of its time in many respects, particularly with its emphasis on cloud-based music services and streaming. Its acquisition by Apple and subsequent shutdown marked the end of an innovative player in the digital music space, but its ideas and technology lived on in later services like Apple Music.

The closure of Lala was met with disappointment from its users and some industry observers, who appreciated the service's user-friendly approach to music discovery and sharing. Despite its relatively short lifespan, Lala's impact on the music industry and its influence on future digital music services was significant.

See Also[edit | edit source]

- Digital music distribution - Streaming media - Cloud storage - Apple Music

Lala (website) Resources
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