It’s only my first day using Lala and I’m totally hooked!  The business model and the tight execution is very impressive.  The ownership and delivery model is simple, yet elegant:

• Download DRM-free MP3s AND get unlimited right-to-stream for 90c per song
• OR pay 10c per song for right-to-stream only
• You can import your entire existing library and gain right-to-stream for every song, regardless of how you obtained it
• You get to 1 full play for any songs you don’t own

If and when they add streaming over cellular, it’ll make an absolute killer app…(commentary about wireless capacity to come)

Whether it is Lala, or some other venture, I think this is the first step towards content-as-a-service.  I’ve written before that the proper content business model of the future is selling a right-to-access, not a transfer-of-possession.  Commercial transactions around the possession of a good is an archaic metaphor to physical goods, and it worked well back in the days when physical delivery was the primary means of distribution.

More to come.