I have been using Lala.com for almost a year now. Its clean interface and offering of millions of songs for streaming and purchasing make it, to me, the only music site or application worth using. No iTunes for me.
Well, not any more. According to TechCrunch, Apple has acquired Lala.com. So, what does this mean? Well, since Lala's *stream anything once for free* model doesn't really jive with iTunes much more pitiful 30 second clip method of letting you preview a song, I'm sure that'll be gone. Albums for $7.49? See ya later ... Buying online-only versions of songs that you kind of like, but aren't ready to commit to? No way.
I really hope Apple takes a lesson from the guys at Lala and keeps some of this functionality in tact. In my opinion, forward-thinking ideas for how music is disseminated are the only thing that will turn the industry around. We've already seen studies that show that illegal downloaders are more interested and more active purchasers than those who play by the rules. This should tell the labels something ... but has it?
Voicing my opinions on the music industry as a whole is something for another day, but I can assure you, the loss of a service like Lala.com is not a good sign of the times.
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