A Web company found a happy medium between getting audiences music for less and getting artists money in their pockets. Lala.com, a new online music Web site, allows members to trade CDs for only $1 for the entire album. For every CD members send through mail in prepaid envelopes, they get a CD sent back to them. “We’re advocates for the consumer,” said Billy Alvarado, co-founder of lala.com. Alvarado said the idea for the Web site came about when he was working for another company. “We would throw parties with bands like Fountains of Wayne and would try to get the music out before so people would know it,” he said. “Wal-Mart had a limited selection so we found this used record store that had everything. We thought, ‘wouldn’t this be great if they were all online?'” The site also gives 20 percent of all trade revenue back to the artist. “We really wanted to have a company with a large music selection but also make it to where the musicians benefit too,” Alvarado said. “We’re not doing anything different than used record stores. It’s just online.” Alvarado said lala.com has over 3.5 million CDs listed by its more than 200,000 members. “Trading is a great way to discover music, but eventually the albums need to be purchased because that is what will support the artist,” he said. Lala.com, which began in June 2006, recently launched “citizen radio,” that allows members to create their own radio stations online for free. Members can also put their stations on their Web sites or blogs. Alvarado said lala.com has also reached out to college radio stations to help bring them new music. Peyton Juneau, station manager at KLSU, said he has visited lala.com, but the station has not been contacted by lala.com. “I think I found [the site] on my own,” Juneau said. Juneau said KLSU receives most of its music from promotions companies. “A record label will hire a promotions company, and they contact us,” he said. Like lala.com, Juneau said KLSU receives music mostly from independent artists. “Sometimes we may get like The Killers CD, but more often than not we get unknown artists,” he said.
—–Contact Kelly Caulk at kcaulk@lsureveille.com