Oh Google, how you never cease to amaze…
Until just a few days ago, Lala was a fairly unknown online music streaming site. Since its 2006 launch, the site has experienced growth rates far inferior to other music sites like Myspace and Pandora. That is, until a partnership with Google suddenly moved their company into the everyday internet vocabulary.
Try this: type in a band or song name into the Google search box, and check out the first results that come up. Rather than directing you to Myspace or the band’s official website, you can now listen to the entire song, for free, with one click. For example, if you were to type in the up-and-coming band The xx into the box, your results would look like this:
The first time you listen, the service costs you nothing; for every time after that, it’s a nominal fee of $.10. Add this to the laundry list of Google’s cutting-edge innovations like Google Voice, Google Wave, and the Android phone, that have all recently been released.
Also, keep a lookout for a new Lala iPhone application, which will allow music streaming similar to the online model: free for the first listen, $.10 per every future listen . Rumor has it the app will be available mid-November, and likely with a very high demand.
…let’s just say we’re in la-la-love.