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Comparison of online music lockers

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This is a comparison of online music storage services (Cloud Music Services), Internet services that allow uploads of personally owned or licensed music to the cloud for listening on multiple devices.[1]

There were three large services—Amazon Music, Apple's iTunes Match, and Google Play Music[2]—each incorporating an online music store (see comparison), with purchased songs from the associated music store not counting toward storage limits. Other than additional storage space, the main additional feature provided with an annual fee by Apple (and formerly Amazon.com) is "scan-and-match", which examines music files on a computer and adds a copy of matched tracks to the user's music locker without having to upload the files. Google provides both a large amount of storage space and the scan-and-match feature at no cost.

Amazon was the first of the currently significant players to launch their cloud music locker service in late March 2011 and the first to discontinue it on 30 April 2018.[3] Amazon Music launched without obtaining any new music streaming licenses, which upset the major record labels.[4] Google launched their service less than a month and a half later, also without obtaining any new licenses.[5] Apple negotiated with the major record labels for a new license before launching their service six months after Google's. Amazon and Google eventually negotiated licenses before launching their scan-and-match features.

In 2018, Google indicated a transition from Google Play Music to Youtube Music.[6] In May 2020, Google had created a transfer tool to migrate added albums, uploads, history, and playlists.[7] Google shut down Google Play Music on October 22nd, 2020[8], completing the shut down announced in August of 2020. Users will have until December 2020 to complete a transfer to Google Play Music.[9]

For streaming services where a person is unable to upload their own music, but is limited to music provided by the service, such as Pandora Radio and Spotify, see Comparison of on-demand streaming music services. See that article also for information on subscription streaming services provided by four of the companies below (Google Play Music All Access, Apple's Apple Music, Amazon's Prime Music, and Microsoft's Groove Music Pass).

Comparison

Amazon did not allow podcasts, ringtones, or audiobooks to be uploaded.[10][11] Apple does not allow audiobooks or podcasts to be uploaded.[12]

Google Play Music YouTube Music iBroadcast iTunes Match VOX Music Cloud
Owner: Google LLC YouTube LLC (Google LLC) iBroadcast Media, LLC Apple Inc. Coppertino Inc.
Launch date: 2011-05-10 (beta)[13] 2015-11-12 2012-06-15[14] 2011-10-12 2015-04-15[15]
Web player: Yes[16] Yes Yes No No
Windows player: Chrome Chrome No Yes No
Android player: Yes[16] Yes Yes Yes No
iOS player: Yes[17] Yes Yes Yes Yes[18]
Windows Phone player: No No No No No
Other listening platforms: Android TV, Apple TV, other AirPlay, Chromecast, Sonos[19] Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Sonos, Chromecast, Android TV, Android Auto Apple TV, other AirPlay macOS, Apple TV via AirPlay, Chromecast, Sonos[20]
Free space:[a] 50,000 files[21] 100,000 files[22] no limit None[23]
Upload software: Windows, macOS, Linux,[24] any web browser[25] Any web browser[22] Windows, macOS, Linux, any web browser Windows, macOS VOX Player for Mac, any web browser
Filetypes uploaded: MP3[26] AAC MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC, PCM, MKA MP3 and AAC FLAC, MP3, AAC, M4A, WAV, OGG, AIFF, WMA, APE, ALAC
Filetypes transcoded: Transcoded to 320 kbit/s MP3:
AAC, ALAC, FLAC,[b] WMA,[c] OGG[27] 		Transcoded to 256 kbit/s AAC:

FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, WMA[22]

Transcoded to 256 kbit/s AAC:
ALAC, WAV, AIFF 		None
Maximum file size: 300 MB[28] 200 MB or 2 hours[29] No limit
Premium service name: None YouTube Music Premium

YouTube Premium

None iTunes Match[30] Loop Music Cloud Storage
Premium service features: Matching included in basic features[31] Ads-free, background play, download music offline, use audio-only mode, travel with YouTube Music, shuffle downloads, Apple Carplay & Android Auto compatibility[32] Higher bitrate streaming, equalizer, Android Auto, Carplay, TBD Match/import up to 100,000 files[d][33] Unlimited storage and playback
Premium annual cost: $119.88 (YouTube Music Premium)

$143.88 (YouTube Premium)

N/A $24.99 (US), £21.99 (UK), €24.99 (FR), $39.99 (AU) $131.88
Matchable file types: MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, Ogg, WMA[27] MP3, AAC, AIFF, ALAC,
WAV[30] 		No matching feature
Result for matched song: 320 kbit/s CBR MP3[34][35] 256 kbit/s AAC[30] No matching feature
Premium service countries: 63[36][37] 94 (YouTube Music Premium)[38]

95 (YouTube Premium)[38]

117[39] Worldwide
  1. ^ Purchased music files from associated music store do not count toward space limits.
  2. ^ Google Play Music transcoding of FLAC to MP3 only supported with 16 and 24-bit stereo or mono FLAC.
  3. ^ Google Play Music only supports WMA transcoding on Windows with Music Manager.
  4. ^ In the United States and Australia, iTunes Match also gets you ad-free iTunes Radio listening.

Former or defunct services

  • Amazon Music storage, started in March 2009, offered storage space for 250 uploaded tracks (MP3 or AAC up to 100MB each) in free version or 250,000 tracks in premium version, as well as web players for major operating systems, Fire TV, Roku, and Sonos sound systems. Amazon started phasing out cloud storage from December 2017.[40]
  • Best Buy Music Cloud debuted in June 2011 to unfavourable reviews.[41]
  • Google Play Music Music locker, store, and streaming service debuted in May 2011, and shut down October 2020. Google has replaced Play Music with YouTube Music.[42]
  • Groove Music by Microsoft debuted in 2015, linking Microsoft's Groove music player to OneDrive cloud storage. It allowed storing up to 5GB of music in AAC, MP3 and WMA formats. Playback was possible on devices running Windows, iOS or Android as well as Xbox game consoles.
  • Lala started in 2006, was purchased by Apple, and shut down on May 31, 2010.
  • Mougg started in 2010, renamed to Mashup in 2012,[43][44] the domain ceased to function in December 2012. In April 2013, the service returned to its original name.
  • MP3tunes started in late 2005, fought major record labels in Capitol Records, Inc. v. MP3Tunes, LLC, and closed in 2012 after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[45]
  • mSpot Music started in May 2010,[46] was purchased by Samsung,[47] and shut down on October 15, 2012.
  • My.MP3.com started in January 2000, fought major record labels in UMG v. MP3.com, and the service was discontinued by a new owner.[48]
  • Samsung Music Hub was only available for a few Samsung devices[49] and was retired on 1 July 2014.[50]
  • Style Jukebox, debuted in September 2012, offered up to 2TB of music storage (10GB in the trial period) and music players for the common operating systems, and supported all major file formats incl. high-resolution audio. The service was discontinued in December 2017.
  • Ubuntu One only included music features (web and mobile app playback, 20 GB storage) with the paid plan. The service was shut down on 1 June 2014.[51]

See also

References

  1. ^ Cloud Music Comparison: What’s the Best Service for Streaming Your Library Everywhere?, Lifehacker, 15 June 2011
  2. ^ Google Music, iTunes Match, and Amazon Cloud Drive: Digital Music Services Comparison Archived 2012-12-17 at the Wayback Machine, PC World, 17 November 2011
  3. ^ Amazon Music to end support for streaming your uploaded MP3s
  4. ^ Amazon faces backlash over "music locker" service, Reuters, Phil Wahba and Paul Thomasch, Mar 29, 2011
  5. ^ Unlicensed: Are Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player illegal?, Ars Technica, July 4, 2011
  6. ^ https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/what-happens-to-google-play-music-youtube-music/
  7. ^ https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-music-transfer-google-play-music-library
  8. ^ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/22/google-play-music-is-now-officially-dead-dead-dead/
  9. ^ https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-music-will-replace-google-play-music-end-2020/
  10. ^ Importing Music into Cloud Player, Amazon Help
  11. ^ Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player take on iTunes Match. Who wins?, Ars Technica, January 17, 2013
  12. ^ Instant Expert: Secrets & Features of iTunes Match
  13. ^ Google Launches 'Music Beta,' a Streaming Cloud Service for Tunes, Wired News, 2011-05-10
  14. ^ We have released v.1.0 of the iBroadcast Android app. It is available now on Google Play., iBroadcast Facebook page, 2012-06-15
  15. ^ Coppertino Launches New LOOP Music Locker, MacRumors, 2015-04-15
  16. ^ a b System requirements and country availability, Google Play Help
  17. ^ Google Play Music arrives for iOS, CNET,November 15, 2013
  18. ^ Vox Plays Any Music File on iOS, Streams Music from a New Music Locker, CNET,April 15, 2015
  19. ^ Play. Amplified. Introducing Google Play and Sonos
  20. ^ Play Lossless with Sonos via VOX
  21. ^ Google Play Music Increases Cloud Storage Limit To 50,000 Songs, Techcrunch
  22. ^ a b c "Upload your music - YouTube Music Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  23. ^ iCloud storage plan overview, Apple.com
  24. ^ Install the Google Play Music Manager, Google Play Help
  25. ^ Google Play Music finally lets you upload songs through the browser, The Verge
  26. ^ "Google Play Music supported file types - Google Play Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  27. ^ a b Google Play Music supported file types, Google Play Help
  28. ^ Storage limits, Google Play Help
  29. ^ iTunes Store: Subscribing to iTunes Match, Apple.com
  30. ^ a b c iTunes Match, Apple.com
  31. ^ Google Music's Free Scan and Match Feature Comes to the U.S.
  32. ^ "Explore YouTube Music Premium benefits - YouTube Music Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  33. ^ Apple support page showing 100,000 track limit
  34. ^ Google Play Music enables scan and match in Europe ahead of US launch, The Verge
  35. ^ Matching feature on the Google Play Music Manager, Google Play Help
  36. ^ Our new music matching feature gets your songs into your online music library on Google Play much faster. We’ll scan your collection and quickly rebuild it in the cloud - all for free., Google Play on Google+, 18 Dec 2012
  37. ^ Country availability for apps & digital content
  38. ^ a b "Paid memberships available locations - YouTube Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  39. ^ iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability, Apple Support
  40. ^ Amazon.com, Inc. "About Amazon Music Subscriptions". Retrieved 20 January 2018. The Amazon Music Storage subscription plans (free and paid) are being retired. Beginning January 15, 2018, no new subscriptions will be accepted.
  41. ^ Best Buy's Music Cloud: Skip It, For Now, PCMag.com, June 22, 2011
  42. ^ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/22/google-play-music-is-now-officially-dead-dead-dead/
  43. ^ Review: Download Music From the Cloud, Rolling Stone, 7 December 2010
  44. ^ Mougg: Another great option for streaming your music library, The Next Web, 29 November 2010
  45. ^ Music labels force pioneering MP3tunes into bankruptcy, Ars Technica, May 14, 2012
  46. ^ mSpot New Music Cloud Service Archived 2013-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, May 19, 2010
  47. ^ Samsung boosts its mobile ecosystem with mSpot purchase, GigaOM, May 9, 2012
  48. ^ Amazon AutoRip: How the labels held back progress for 14 years, Ars Technica, January 11, 2013
  49. ^ mSpot Music is closing on October 15, 2012 Archived November 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, mSpot blog, 9/19/2012
  50. ^ Samsung to retire Music Hub streaming service, CNet.com
  51. ^ Silber, Jane (2 April 2014). "Shutting down Ubuntu One file services". Canonical Blog. Canonical Ltd. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
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