Like most students on the campus, Jeremy Dunsworth is discovering new ways to procrastinate. The senior computer science major was tinkering around on the Internet and stumbled upon a website to keep him entertained – a site that allows you to share music files.
Oh yeah, and it’s legal.
Lala.com is a CD trading website that gives 20 percent of its revenues to artists. It recently launched its beta version to the public.
“My main concern is that I will not get any work done this semester,” Dunsworth says.
Lala.com combines aspects of the business model of Netflix, the community building features of Last.fm and the heart of Match.com to create a business and community network in cyberspace.
Dunsworth has already made a few of his own adjustments to suit his needs.
“There are programs available, one of which I wrote myself, which will notify you when one of your discs has been requested, so I won’t have to refresh the website all day,” continues Dunsworth.
From Aaliyah’s One in a Million to ZZ Top’s Greatest Hits, Lala.com currently has more than 1.8 million available titles on its site with 100,000 members and keeps growing.
Members list the albums they want and those they have and the rest is left up to good karma – In order to receive a CD on your “want” list you must ship a CD another member requests. Your credit card account is charged $1.75 in trading fees and shipping every time a member receives a CD. Lala.com provides the prepaid envelopes and plastic cases to ship the albums out.
When there is a request for an album in your collection, you can reject the request or confirm it. Don’t hesitate to confirm the shipment of an album you are eager to dispose of – it may make a huge difference.
“You never know when a little request bubble is going to pop up. You have to be ready to pounce on it or it will be gone,” says junior mathematics major Monica Anthony.
Aside from displaying the “have” and “want” lists, each user profile – called a karma page – has features similar to those on Last.fm. One similarity is a plug-in, which can be downloaded to display recent tracks that have been played on iTunes or Windows Media Player.
On the user’s page there is also a friends list, theme album sets the member compiled, album reviews the member has written, a blurb board and recent blog postings.
Lala.com spokesman John Kuch grew up outside of Annapolis and has fond memories of the social activity involved with record stores such as Record and Tape Traders.
“We all wanted to bring the record store experience to the Internet, but we also wanted to make sure that artists get discovered and rewarded,” he says.
With all the failed music sales paradigms, no effort has been made to improve selling used CDs with a payment back to musicians until now. Lala.com allocates 20 percent of the trade revenues – 20 cents per album – to the artists.
According to the site, Lala.com plans to create a registry for artists to claim the money from each trade. The money generated from deceased musicians and any unsettled disputes between artists on the ownership of albums will go into the Z Foundation, which gives artists access to health and dental care.
“We have friends that are artists that have said that it is sometimes hard for them to make ends meet,” Kuch says. “Even some popular musicians have a difficult time finding affordable health and dental care.”
The contribution to artists has become an incentive for people to join.
“I get to get rid of embarrassing CDs, explore new music for a good price and help support the artists who are shaping our culture,” Dunsworth says.
While sophomore government and politics major Amanda Lee believes the contribution is great for artists, she would not use the service.
“CDs are fading out, but the albums aren’t. Digital music is just more convenient,” she said.
Though Lala.com is currently only for people within the country, Kuch says extending the service is a priority for the company to exchange not only music but “cross-continental tastes and culture.”
Also in the works is an online store, now in beta testing, where members can purchase an album they do not want to wait to receive for prices that Lala.com has negotiated with distributors.
“Even though the site is so awesome, I hope it doesn’t wipe out used record stores completely. Nothing beats the thrill of going down to the CD/Game Exchange and hunting through for something marvelous,” says Anthony.
The low price attached to the transactions, the convenience factor and the large selection make Lala.com a competitor to already struggling independent record stores (Revolution Records closed on Sept. 3).
Kuch says, “We want to work with the mom and pop shops. We want to see them succeed; they’re complementary to us.”
Contact reporter Nancy Chow at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.
