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Apple Widens Music Strategy, Buys Startup Lala

In case people get music from a cloud, not an iPod

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 5, 2009 10:35 AM CST

(Newser) – Apple has bought the online music service Lala to broaden its reach in the digital music business. Lala relies on so-called cloud computing: It allows users to buy songs for 10 cents and listen to them on the web, but they're not downloaded to the person's hard drive or devices like iPods. More importantly, Lala is developing an iPhone app to make it even easier to get music on the go, notes the Wall Street Journal.

“There’s a big question in the industry about what will be the dominant way people will obtain music, whether it’s stored in the cloud or whether it will be on a hard drive,” one industry expert tells Bloomberg. “Apple is wise to cover its bases because it’s only in the download business.”

In this screen shot released by online music retailer LaLa, a display of the company's new music application made for the iPhone is shown.
In this screen shot released by online music retailer LaLa, a display of the company's new music application made for the iPhone is shown.   (AP Photo/LaLa Media Inc.)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
Rembrandt_Q_Einstein
Dec 6, 2009 1:04 AM CST
Imminent lawsuit from Apple Records in 3...2...
DontLikeYou___
Dec 5, 2009 10:06 AM CST
To hell with that. Apple likes to keep control over its music distribution and products. Just go to Amazon.com and buy MP3s which will play on all normal players.
chas_m
Dec 5, 2009 8:04 AM CST
Most likely, Apple will leave LaLa more or less as it is -- at least for a while, and just "pluck the tree" for talented, imaginative engineers. The business model of LaLa was unworkable, but the concept had some good notions within it.
 

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