Lala, a new startup based in Palo Alto, California has managed to create a new twist on file sharing. Instead of possibly copyright infringing peer to peer file sharing enabled by the likes of Kazaa and BitTorrent services, Lala attempts to create a legal file sharing system that charges people to both listen and download music at differing rates. So how does it work?
The way Lala operates is that you can sign in to the service, download their desktop application, and then proceed to share the the music on your hard drive with your friends. This will also allow you to move music from one PC to an Internet “cloud”, from where it can be accessed anywhere in the world.
If you want to listen to new songs, however, you can listen to any track onces for free, and any subsequent streaming will cost you 10 cents. Downloading a track will cost you about 89 cents.
Download may be avoided altogether in the near future as Lala releases its iPhone application, allowing streaming to your iPhone whereever you are. This might eliminate the need to download mp3s for your iPod as your iPhone becomes your new music player. Lala certainly seems to be promising; lets see what the future holds for this interesting social startup!
