Apple has now confirmed that it has indeed purchased Lala.com, a great music streaming site. This has led many to believe that Apple will now go far beyond simply allowing people to buy and download music, but to stream, or rent it as well!
There are potential problems with Apple's purchase of the small company, as pointed out by Arstechnica, such as its extensive use of Flash, software that Apple has been seemingly dead set against for some time now. It's believe that Apple will soon incorporate Lala into iTunes and thus taking the world's largest and most popular music site to a much higher level.
Unfortunately, if you live anywhere else but in the good ol U.S. of A, then your out of luck, because Lala now only works within its borders, but they assure us that they are working to fix that soon, and this leads me to another similar site, GrooveShark.com, my site-4-the-week.
What can I say about GrooveShark except that it is just that..... groovy! Currently the site now works in both the U.S and Canada, but I'm not exactly sure if it works in other countries as well, such as in my favorite other land ...... Deutschland den schönen! Hopefully, it does because I'm hooked and turned on by this great site and it's my hope that as many people as possible will discover and enjoy it as much as myself.
GrooveShark is sort of like a personal radio station, but one that gives you total control over its play list, and just like regular radio it is supported by ads. Fortunately, however, those ads are not quite like the ones that you hear on commercial stations, because you don't hear these ads at all - they are completely silent! Unlike the ones, on regular commercial stations, ones that interrupt your listening pleasure with annoying audio commercials, GrooveShark's ads are silently displayed on one side of the very iTune like page, allowing you to listen without being interrupted by traditional audio ads. Not only are GrooveShark's ads silent ads, but they also even give you the option of turning them completely off, but for a price, and a small one at that, namely a mere $3 per month for a VIP account.
So far I've have really, really enjoyed GrooveShark and I highly recommend it for anyone, at least if you live here in either the U.S. or Canada. GrooveShark allows you even better service by creating your own account, which, by the way, goes for the low, low price of FREE! There is an optional 'premium account VIP' account, as mentioned, which for a mere $3 per month, or $30 per year, is well worth the money, and, as they state, it offers the following great advantages:
- You're Always First in Line.
- Get access to the newest Grooveshark features before everyone else—and let us know what you think, with direct help. VIPs always have access to the ultimate that Grooveshark 2 has to offer.
- Swim Free. Ad free, that is.
- Make it just you and the music. Grooveshark VIP gives you the world's music catalog, without interruption. No ads, just music.
- What's on Your Mind?
- Not only do you get direct support from our team, but we want to hear more from you. Let us know what features we can make to get you grooving even more.
- The Badge Speaks for Itself.
- Grooveshark already thinks you're awesome—now let everyone else know. With VIP, get an awesome badge to show off next to your Grooveshark username.
- Keep it Personal
- We're constantly adding more themes to our VIPs, so you can really pick the kind of Grooveshark you want to use. They'll keep coming as long as you keep listening.
- 10x More Music
- We know you've got a lot of music to love—and you're constantly finding more great tunes on Grooveshark. VIPs get 5000 Favorite songs and 50000 songs in your Library to keep all the best organized.
- Custom Tailoring
- We know one size doesn't fit all—and VIPs can change the size of Current Songs in Grooveshark to take advantage of screen real estate. From a netbook to that 30-inch LCD, pick what's best for you.
- We've Only Just Begun
- We're constantly working on new features for VIPs, and we love to hear your feedback on what should be next. Got something you want? Let us know, and we'll get back.
But don't worry, the free account is far better than a lot of the paid services of the past and it is fast, convenient and gives you access to millions and millions of songs.... your songs, the ones that you want to hear, when you want, and any ol time that you want! Trust me, GrooveShark is, no doubt, one of the very reasons why Apple had no choice but too add similar features to iTunes by buying Lala.
GrooveShark has allowed me the freedom to pick and choice what I want to hear, without having to listen to a lot of the other crap out there first as with traditional radio stations. Thanks to GrooveShark I was able to listen to some great new music recently, for example Allison Iraheta's, the hot little redheaded rocker chic from American Idol. Her debut album is frankly, fantastically..... FANTASTIC! Thanks to GrooveShark I'm now able to actually hear and enjoy her considerable talent, rather than having to just sit around waiting for a traditional radio station to hopefully play one of her great tunes!
So, in conclusion, not only is GrooveShark my site-4-the-week, but it's definitely one of my all time favorites and absolutely, by far, the grooviest that I've come across in a long, long time! Thanks GrooveShark for the fine service and great music, because when it comes to GrooveShark it's all about the music, and music all of the time!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Monday, December 07 , 2009
Please Note: This short post was completely written while listening and enjoying Allison Iraheta's great self titled new album, Allison Iraheta, via GrooveShark! Check them both out, because their both fantastically - FANTASTIC!
