Lala is a new online music service which comes with some interestingly innovative features. It has a fast, easy to manage interface which lets you sample full tracks very quickly and more importantly add them to an online playlist locker for repeat listening. The service itself is subscription free, although you’ll pay for the music of course.

The fascinating thing is the fact that they’re charging 10c per track, and if you want the downloaded MP3, you’ll pay an extra 79c, which means they are going for that elusive revenue stream even in beta. Brave. The site boasts 5 million tracks and you get 50 tracks for free storage. All streaming is free of charge though, so if you’re just into listening to a track once, here’s your chance.

There’s nothing about the site in general which makes you wanna go ‘wow’, but it’s strangely compelling to use, maybe because there are so many tracks available to sample and add to your locker. And it’s all so easy to use (did I say that already?) Surprisingly, you can also sample complete albums, which is kind of radical, and cool. Oh and the content is all A-list, so you’re not just getting access to indie or unsigned artists, you will find your faves on there somewhere.

My fave bit though, is the artist page, which comes with a short informative bio and a very nice discography with…gasp…full audition. Yep, you can either listen to the whole album online for free, or buy the online/web version for for your locker (priced at around $0.50 and up) or the MP3 downloadable version for a range of pricing again, depending on popularity. These are pretty aggressive prices methinks. If you’re a real masochist, you can get the CD delivered to your hot little letterbox for your usual $12.xx type retail price.

All in all, Lala is a neat music portal, which although offering nothing really new, packages together a range of features with style, and more importantly, ease of use. USA only at the moment.