Apple to Purchase Music Service Lala

Apple, the ruler of the U.S. musical arena via iTunes, is discussing the purchase of streaming-music service Lala, Bloomberg reports. Unlike on iTunes, Lala users can purchase songs for a small fee, and songs are stored on Internet servers—known as "clouds"—instead of being downloaded to a computer's hard drive. Larry Kenswil, former head of Universal Music Group's digital unit, says Apple is "wise to cover its bases because it's only in the download business." There is a wide debate in the industry about how users should obtain music, and expanding user options could bolster Apple's popularity—even though it is the biggest seller in the U.S. Apple has yet to confirm the deal.