returncontrol

I’m addicted to Lala.com.  Since signing up about a week ago, the site is one of the first I load in my browser each morning.  And then I leave it up in the background throughout the day so I can listen to music as I work.

Without a doubt, Lala has replaced iTunes for managing and playing my music.  Why?

1. Lala lets me listen to any song in its entirety for free the first time I access it.  You can queue up an entire album and listen to it before deciding to buy.  ITunes only lets me listen to 30 seconds of a song.
2. Lala lets me see what other people are listening to, including those who have just listened to the same thing I have.  Chances are, we like the same music.  And if we do, I can choose to “follow” them and listen to new stuff they find.  This is the best use of online social networking I’ve seen so far.  I’ve already discovered five new bands I like.
3. Lala lets me “upload” my entire iTunes library to my Lala collection so I can access it from anywhere on the Web.  (You’re not actually uploading the files, just a list of them — Lala then streams their own copy when you access a particular song.)  ITunes limits the number of computers on which I can listen to my music.
4. If I like a song I find on Lala, I can add it to my Web collection for $0.10 and listen to it in its entirety whenever I want, as many times as I want.
5. If I do want to put a song on my iPod or burn it to disc, the cost is $0.89 — or $0.79 if I already paid the $0.10 to add it to my Web collection.  In comparison, iTunes songs cost $0.99.
6. The songs I buy at full price are totally-DRM-free MP3s.  That means I can burn them to disc as many times as I want, put them on music players other than the iPod, play them on as many computers as I want, and I’m not screwed if the service goes out of business one day.  Apple’s iTunes can’t beat that.

You should check Lala out.  And no, I don’t get any kickbacks for recommending the site.  I just thought you might be interested in what the future of music looks like.