Apple Inc is in advanced talks to buy online music retailer Lala.com, a Silicon Valley startup that has threatened “the end of the MP3” with its fast song-streaming application.
A person familiar with the matter confirmed the talks but was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In October, Lala co-founder Bill Nguyen demonstrated a working model of an application the company had developed for Apple’s iPhone.
The app allows users to buy the right to stream songs from a digital locker for an unlimited time on their iPhones for just US$0.10 each.
The song quality is lower than what Apple’s iTunes songs offer, but “intelligent caching” allows tracks to load and play in seconds, with playback possible even outside of cell phone coverage.
The model undercuts prices charged on iTunes, where songs generally cost US$0.69 to US$1.29.
Nguyen described the concept as the start of “the end of the MP3.”
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