Lala

Lala was an online music service and digital media company founded in 2006 in Palo Alto, California. Created by entrepreneur Bill Nguyen with Billy Alvarado, Anselm Baird-Smith, and John Cogan III, the company initially built its business around person-to-person CD trading. Members listed discs they owned, exchanged them through Lala's fulfillment and shipping system, and paid fees when they received discs. The service supplied prepaid mailing materials, tracked transactions, and also offered new CDs through a retail relationship with Newbury Comics. The company gradually moved away from physical-media exchange. Its 2007 Lala 2.0 iteration experimented with user-uploaded MP3 libraries and free, legal, on-demand listening, although the listening feature was reportedly discontinued shortly after introduction. A subsequent version, commonly described as Lala 3.0, entered broader open-beta rollout in June 2008. This service combined personal music-library access, licensed song and album streaming, MP3 purchases, and low-cost repeat streaming rights known as web songs. Users could listen to eligible tracks or albums in full once without charge, purchase individual MP3 files, or pay for continuing web access. Lala also developed social features, including shareable playlists or radio stations, member pages, blurbs, community forums, and gift purchases based on users' want lists. Lala negotiated licensing arrangements with major record labels and promoted a catalog that its homepage described as containing more than eight million licensed songs. The business therefore occupied an intermediate position between a digital music retailer, a subscription-like streaming service, a personal music locker, and a social music community. Its model was notable for offering multiple forms of access rather than relying exclusively on permanent downloads: physical CDs, MP3 ownership, one-time streams, and inexpensive recurring web access were all part of the service at different stages. The company attracted venture backing from Bain Capital and Ignition Partners and later received a reported $20 million investment from Warner Music Group. It also became associated with WOXY.com, an Internet radio station in Cincinnati. Bill Nguyen's investment helped WOXY return to the air after a temporary suspension, and the two services cross-promoted music, programming, and independent artists. Lala sold WOXY to Future Sounds in February 2009. Lala's physical CD-trading activity was closed in December 2009 as the company concentrated on online music. Apple acquired Lala on December 4, 2009. Apple subsequently announced that Lala would stop accepting new users and would shut down on May 31, 2010. Users with remaining credit were offered corresponding credit in Apple's iTunes Store. The service closed on schedule, although its technology continued for a period to provide full-length song previews on Billboard.com before Billboard later moved to MySpace Music. Lala is therefore best understood as a defunct digital music pioneer whose product experiments anticipated later combinations of music streaming, cloud-based personal libraries, social discovery, and digital purchasing.

Lala was established in 2006 as La La Media in Palo Alto, California. Its original concept was a managed exchange for used CDs. Members could send discs to other members, while Lala recorded the transactions and balanced participation so that users generally received discs in relation to the discs they had supplied. The company charged a per-disc brokerage fee and recovered shipping expenses through additional charges. It provided mailing envelopes and protective sleeves, imposed limits on discs in transit, and offered new CDs through a partnership with Newbury Comics. Members could also give CDs to one another using recipients' want lists. The service entered invite-only beta on March 6, 2006, and moved to open beta on June 8. By December of that year, the company reported approximately 300,000 registered members and more than 500,000 CD trades. Lala was venture funded by Bain Capital and Ignition Partners and later received a reported $20 million investment from Warner Music Group. In 2007, Lala introduced a new version that sought to transform the company from a physical-media exchange into an Internet music platform. The service allowed users to upload MP3 collections and experiment with legal, full-length on-demand listening. That listening feature was subsequently discontinued, but Lala continued developing a broader digital model. Its 3.0 version rolled out more openly in June 2008 and offered a combination of music discovery, streaming, downloads, and personal-library access. Under this later model, registered users could listen to eligible songs or albums in full once without charge. Individual tracks could be bought as MP3 files, while a lower-cost web-song option provided repeated streaming access through the site. Users could upload their own MP3 libraries for remote listening, and the service supported playlists, member pages, comments or blurbs, community forums, and social sharing. Lala also entered licensing arrangements with major labels and promoted a catalog of more than eight million licensed songs. The company became involved with WOXY.com, an Internet radio station based in Cincinnati. Bill Nguyen's investment helped the station resume broadcasting after a brief suspension, and Lala and WOXY promoted each other's services and music. Lala sold WOXY to Future Sounds in February 2009. Lala's business continued to change as online streaming and digital distribution became more important. In December 2009, it discontinued CD trading. Apple acquired Lala on December 4, 2009, but did not maintain the public service indefinitely. On April 30, 2010, Apple announced that Lala would stop accepting new users and close on May 31. Remaining user credit was to be transferred or compensated through credit in Apple's iTunes Store. Lala shut down as scheduled. Its technology was used for a time to supply full-length music previews on Billboard.com, after which Billboard adopted MySpace Music as its provider. Lala's history illustrates the rapid transition from physical ownership and peer-to-peer exchange toward licensed streaming, cloud-based music access, and digital downloads. Its hybrid business model was innovative but short-lived, and its acquisition by Apple preceded the service's closure within months.

• 2010

  Service shutdown

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Lala closed on May 31 after Apple announced the end of the service.

• 2009

  WOXY sold to Future Sounds

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Lala divested the Internet radio service it had supported and cross-promoted.

• 2009

  Apple acquisition

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Apple acquired Lala.com on December 4.

• 2008

  Lala 3.0 rollout

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  A broader version combined streaming, downloads, web songs, personal music lockers, and community features.

• 2007

  Lala 2.0 shifts toward digital music

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  The company emphasized uploaded MP3 collections and legal online listening.

• 2006

  Invite-only beta begins

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Lala began testing its managed CD-trading service on March 6.

• 2006

  Open beta launch

  [1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  The service opened more broadly on June 8.

A flexible, socially oriented online music marketplace that combined licensed streaming, digital downloads, personal music-library access, and physical CD exchange.

• Physical media marketplace · 2006

  CD trading marketplace

  Lala's original core product allowed members to exchange used CDs through a managed system. The company tracked trades, supplied shipping materials, limited the number of discs moving at once, and charged a brokerage fee plus shipping-related charges. Users could maintain lists of discs they owned and wanted, and the platform also supported gifting CDs from those lists.

• Digital music service · 2007

  Lala streaming and digital store

  The later Lala platform offered licensed full-length streaming, MP3 purchases, one-time listening, and low-cost repeat streaming access called web songs. It combined music discovery and commerce with social pages, playlists, forums, and member interaction.

• Cloud music locker · 2007

  Personal music library

  Members could upload their MP3 collections and access their personal libraries through the web from different computers. This feature positioned Lala as both a music store and a remote-access library for users' existing digital collections.

• 2010

  Service shutdownOther

  Background

  Following the Apple acquisition, the standalone Lala service was no longer continued as a public music platform.

  Action taken

  Apple stopped accepting new users and closed Lala on May 31.

  Aftermath

  User credit was redirected to Apple's iTunes Store, while Lala technology temporarily powered music previews on Billboard.com.

  Source

• 2009

  End of CD tradingStrategy

  Background

  Lala increasingly focused on streaming, digital downloads, and online music access.

  Action taken

  The company closed its CD-trading service in December.

  Aftermath

  Lala concentrated on its digital service shortly before its acquisition by Apple.

  Source

• 2009

  Apple acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Apple acquired Lala.com as the online music market developed around streaming, digital libraries, and download stores.

  Action taken

  Apple purchased Lala on December 4.

  Aftermath

  Apple announced the closure of Lala several months later and directed users with credit toward the iTunes Store.

  Source

• 2007

  Shift from CD exchange to digital musicStrategy

  Background

  Lala's original physical CD-trading model was repositioned as online music distribution and listening developed.

  Action taken

  The company introduced uploaded MP3 libraries, legal streaming experiments, digital purchases, and later web-song access.

  Aftermath

  The service became primarily a digital music platform, although the CD-trading business continued until December 2009.

  Source

• 2010

  Apple announces Lala shutdown[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Other

  Lala stopped accepting new users and announced that its service would close on May 31, 2010; users with credit were offered credit in Apple's iTunes Store.

• 2009

  Lala sells WOXY.com[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Lala sold the Internet radio service WOXY.com to Future Sounds after previously supporting its return to online broadcasting.

• 2009

  Apple acquires Lala[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Apple acquired Lala.com on December 4, 2009.

• 2009

  Lala closes its CD-trading service[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Lala ended its physical CD-trading activity as it focused more heavily on online music.

• 2008

  Lala expands streaming and digital purchase features[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Product launch

  The Lala 3.0 rollout combined full-length previews, MP3 purchases, repeat streaming access, personal music lockers, and social features.

• 2007

  Lala shifts toward online music listening[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  Lala 2.0 repositioned the service around uploaded MP3 libraries and legal on-demand listening rather than primarily physical CD exchange.

• 2006

  Lala launches invite-only CD-trading beta[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Lala began as a service for members to exchange CDs through a managed trading and shipping system.

• 2006

  Lala reports early growth in CD trading[1]Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  By December 2006, the service had approximately 300,000 registered members and more than 500,000 CD trades, according to the cited reference material.

1. 1Lala (music service)en.wikipedia.org