Welcome to iPod-compatible ‘Lala’ land

With all the current debate ebbing and flowing between the when and ifs of whether all digital music downloads on Apple’s iTunes Store will ever be delivered completely free of Digital Rights Management (DRM) copy protection, it’s always good to know that other imaginative industry types are hard at work looking for genuine ways to boost the online music service.

More pointedly, amusingly named Lala.com, a California-based music start-up Web site has this week unveiled its plans to introduce an online music service that’s not only compatible with the iPod player and iTunes but will also offer free (that’s ‘free’) full online song playback in order to better tempt prospective consumers into actually purchasing while perusing.

Lala’s initial service will be tied in with artists signed to Warner Music, and it will offer up single song tracks and full albums to the consumer, which will arrive without (that’s ‘without’) DRM protection and will be fully compatible with Apple’s iPod. In actuality, the new download service will only be compatible with the iPod player – no alternative hardware – in a move Lala hopes will prevent illegal distribution seeing as DRM has been removed.

Although currently restricted to Warner Music artists, Reuters reports that Lala is apparently in talks with the other major music companies (Sony BMG, EMI, and Vivendi Universal) to bring them onboard with the service.

In an interview with Reuters, Lala founder Bill Nguyen revealed that he predicts the service to lose some $40 million USD in the first two years of service, outlining that free-play licensing fees could rise as high as $160 million USD during that period. He also suggested that Lala’s audience is expected to consist of 70 percent “freeloaders,” merely visiting to listen to tracks, while “30 percent will be buying music.”

With significant financial backing from Bain Capitol and Ignition Corp., Lala’s service is free to use (beyond actual purchases) and will not bombard consumers with any advertising. The songs listed in Lala’s catalogue, available for visitors to listen to (for free), will be subject to end-user restriction in that consumers will only be able to download content directly to their iPod players, not their computers.

Source : tech.monstersandcritics.com