Got Unwanted CDs? Trade 'Em

April 19, 2006 -- -- What do you do with the used CDs you don't want anymore? Throw them out? Sell them? Use them as very small Frisbees?

The self-proclaimed music lovers who started lala.com are banking on the idea that thousands of unwanted CDs sit dormant in music collections across the nation by creating a service that matches people up to trade their old tunes.

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The site could turn the Internet into the largest record store in the world.

For just a dollar, audiophiles post the CD they want to trade and what they want to trade it for, and wait to see if anyone bites.

If someone wants to trade, the two swap the CDs using prepaid envelopes provided by la la. If not, fans can buy the CD outright, or download tunes at retail prices.

"I think the big advantage is just the selection," said Bill Nguyen, one of the site's founders. "For example, if you go to a local record store, they have five or six thousand titles. You go to a Wal-Mart, about the same thing. You go to iTunes [music store] you have 150,000 albums, but la la has 1.8 million."

According to the Web site, Nguyen and the other creators wanted to created a service that would benefit music fans and music makers alike.

To make that point, they've put their money where their mouth is.

La la is offering up to 20 percent of its profits, which it said were barely enough to cover the cost of operating the site, to the recording artists themselves.

"Despite what is depicted on MTV's 'Cribs,' a wonderfully entertaining show, most musicians don't live large with a big house and five cars," reads a statement on the site. "Rather, the majority of musicians struggle to make a living from their recordings and must depend on other income-producing activities such as performing concerts or selling merchandise."