USA Today reports:
A new CD-trading website lala.com, launching Tuesday, could be the first of a new wave of sites that give consumers a way to legitimately get nearly free music.
How it works: Users start by listing all their CDs. Then they look at menus of available CDs or through other people's CD collections, clicking on those they'd like to receive.
A request, say, for Coldplay's X&Y, generates a blind notice to anyone who has that CD that someone wants it. The first to agree to send it sees the address of the person who wants the CD, then mails it in a pre-paid envelope (which La La sends users when they sign up).
La La users get charged $1 for each CD they receive. They have to send a CD to get a CD, which is supposed to prevent anyone from abusing the system by only receiving CDs. Users are instructed to send the original CD, not a copy.