Okay Geek Farm
Apple is Shutting down Lala
Brandon Davenport
Well, there has been yet another shut down in the tech industry in the past 3 days - first it was Microsoft killing the Courier, than it was HP killing off the Slate, and now it is Apple shutting down Lala, the magical online streaming music website. What is going on? Why is everything that is cool, crumbling into oblivion. We don’t quite know, but one thing is for sure - we have some more details…
The website currently displays the current message for members
You will be able to access and play all music in your Lala collection through May 31, 2010. Any mp3 songs purchased and downloaded from Lala will continue to play as part of your local music library. You can continue to purchase mp3 songs through May 31st using your wallet balance or other payment methods.
As of today, web songs, wallets, and gift cards are no longer available for purchase on Lala. Uploads have been discontinued, and we are not accepting new users for the service.
As you can see, Apple is indeed shutting down Lala, and this raises a bunch of questions - first off, since Apple shut down Lala so quickly after the purchase, are they planning to work with the Lala team and build a new streaming music service to work in unison with iTunes? Maybe a large portion of iTunes will soon be in the cloud, and in the browser, but one thing is for sure: Lala did not die off for nothing, there is something a-brewin’ down at Apple HQ.
