Amidst the myriad of web based song player options out there right now, I’m very tempted to start using Lala regularly. The “new thing” about this player is you have an option to purchase “web plays” of a song for 10 cents each. Of course, you may also purchase MP3s to download at a reasonable price, which is pretty standard for most players.
How many of you bought an an entire CD 5 years ago and found you were hitting the “skip” button on half the songs to get to your favorites ? Buying individual songs/MP3s saves you from that problem. Fast forward 5 years. How many of you have purchased lots of individual songs/MP3s and find you are skipping those now as well or moving them to a 3rd tier playlist rotation? Buying a “web play” of a song for 10 cents may be just the thing for you.
10 cents a song is like a “bookmark price”. For the price of a cappuccino, you could spend several hours checking out artists, playlists, recommendations, etc. and purchase 25-30 songs (web play only). They are then yours to stream as often as you like. Try them out for awhile. If they really ‘stick’ and stand up to your criteria and taste for a “full purchase” after a few plays through, great, buy them. If they don’t ‘stick’, maybe they are still good enough (like most of your collection) for a few plays once in awhile even if they just aren’t “absolutely must have on my iPod” selections. Then don’t buy these particular songs. Instead, listen to the web streamed versions to your hearts content.
According to a recent techcrunch post, there will be a Lala iPhone player app coming soon. Stay tuned. This may be a game changer in the music player space.
