Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Warner Debuts Free Music Service

It has been announced that Warner Music Group's Lala.com is to offer songs to listen to for free online.

Using the site, owners of iPods can keep their iTunes libraries online, where they will be able to be accessed from anywhere and shared with any user. Lala.com also allows users to trade CDs online for a nominal fee as well as selling tracks that can be uploaded directly onto an iPod.

Founder of Lala.com Bill Nguyen accused the studios of having "done everything they can to get people to hate music." He added that Napster, which was shut down in July 2001 after an injunction was issued against it, was the "last good thing to happen to music that people loved".

"We wondered what would happen if we built a new Napster, with one hope that if you trust the consumer and don't think they are the enemy then you won't get screwed," Mr Nguyen added. Currently Lala.com has approximately 300,000 members and charges $1 per disc for users to swap CDs among themselves.

"Music is and will always be a driving force of the Internet, states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. "Recently, there has been a boom in "boutique" music stores that cater to specific audiences. For example, Beatportand Bleep cater to the electronic music community. Magnatune, Amie Street, and Mindawn are other examples of sites that cater to specific audiences. "

For more information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com

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