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If you Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) the Delfonics' 1968 slow-dance soul classic, "La-La Means I Love You," the first item at the top of the results page is an audio file of the song courtesy of -- who else? -- Lala.com. Becoming a part of Google's then-new music search service in October was arguably the biggest thing to happen to Lala -- until this weekend, when Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) purchased the streaming music company for an undisclosed sum.
"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not comment on our purpose or plans," Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling told MacNewsWorld. Lala did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
While there's no way of knowing yet exactly how the company that changed the music landscape with the iPod and iTunes software plans to integrate Lala's technology and personnel, the musical matchup is intriguing enough to get technology bloggers and pundits waxing about potental big changes coming to Apple's digital music strategy.
In its four years of existence, Lala has morphed from online CD-swapping to a browser-based streaming service that allows you to upload your personal digital music library -- including your iTunes songs -- to its part of the cloud, enabling you to listen to your music on whatever device you choose, whenever you want, for free. Like Apple, Lala has gone through its own gyrations with the major music labels -- Warner Brothers is a major investor -- to add paid music downloads to its list of features.
All of that certainly made Lala a very attractive candidate for Apple's affections. The big question now: What exactly did Apple love about Lala to help iTunes evolve?
Streaming iTunes?
"I like this deal for Apple. It clearly indicates for me a streaming music service in the future, which we have said was a long time hole for Apple for years," IDC digital media analyst Danielle Levitas told MacNewsWorld. "By offering a browser-based solution, it makes a streaming music service portable across devices -- perhaps Apple-branded or otherwise -- to anything with a browser. So think connected TV or Blu-ray player, connected digital media adapter like AppleTV, etc., as well as potentially other smartphones and connected consumer electronics."
After eight years of getting consumers -- and music labels -- used to the idea of downloading songs to iPods, Apple may be noticed that the potential next chapter of the digital music experience was happening right under its nose on the iPhone platform. Lala and other free streaming services such as Pandora and Last.fm all have successful iPhone apps, and those companies are also providing versions to other smartphone operating systems such as Android.
"I love Pandora. I can't believe I don't have to pay for it," Levitas said. "I think Apple sees this streaming model as being central to delivering customized/next-gen media (music) experiences across a range of connected devices."
Because Lala also has recommendations and social media aspects to its service, Levitas sees that eventually mashing up with iTunes Genius capabilities to add to the Apple user experience.
The Evolution of iTunes
When Creative Strategies consumer technologies director Ben Bajarin muses on the Apple purchase of Lala, he has visions of iTunes migrating to the cloud. "Right now your iPhone (or iPod) has fairly finite memory," Bajarin told MacNewsWorld. "I can't put my entire library on my iPhone, but what if part of it was local and the rest of the library could be streamed? Now it's a way for me to access and navigate all my songs. Most iPod users have a music library that dwarfs what they have in their local device.
"What's the evolution of iTunes as a service? Not just a platform for consumption but now as a service for delivering that content to more and more devices," he added.
Use of the Lala technology could bring more value to Apple's Mobile Me service, Bajarin said, which Cupertino definitely wants to see grow.
Apple also must value the music rights deals that Lala already has in place with the recording labels for streaming, which the industry and artists have always argued should be compensated with performance fees. "My hunch is that's one of the reasons they bought Lala. They don't do that deal if it wasn't in the contract. I know (Lala cofounder) Bill Nguyen. He's a smart guy. You always negotiate the acquisition rights because any potential suitor is going to want that to transfer if they buy you. Apple would have done that due diligence," Bajarin said.
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