Cloud-Based Versus Digital Downloads

In a one-two punch the past couple of weeks, both Apple and Google have opened up their own cloud music services. Apple has iTunes Match, a $24.99/year service, andGoogle has Google Music, a music store and free cloud storage solution (you can store up to 20,000 songs for free, but you must upload them to your account yourself) for your music files.

Apple’s service is available only on Apple devices, while Google is accessible as an app on Android devices, and as an HTML5 web app for Apple devices.

Both allow you to stream music directly from the cloud, eliminating the need to mess around with local storage. This makes sense considering many smartphones and tablets (which these services are aimed at) have limited storage captivity. But armed with an unlimited mobile internet plan (or Wi-Fi) you can keep all you music on the cloud and stream as needed, without having to download them.

Both services are currently restricted to US-only users. However there are creative ways for non-US users to sign up for these services, using proxies that give you a US-based IP address. Engadget even published a post explaining how. Or if the circumstance presents itself, you could do as I did, sign up for Google Music while in the US during a quickie visit.

Apart from Google Music, I signed up for Spotify, that Swedish based music-streaming service now making headway in America thanks to its patron saint Sean Parker and his ties to Facebook. Spotify’s links with Facebook are so tight that you need a Facebook account just to sign in.

Spotify usage is likewise blocked in the PH. However if you signed up for Spotify in one of the countries supported, you can continue to use the account globally.

I signed up for the “Premium Account”, which for $9/month allows you unlimited use and the ability to use Spotify on both PC and mobile devices (a wide range of smartphones are aupported from iPhones to Nokia Symbian devices).

Spotify boggles the mind. This service eliminates the need to download any music at all. Any song you care to pull out of your nostalgia banks is stored somewhere in a Spotify server. You only need to search for it. Having found the the track, you can play it immediately, or add it to a playlist. With no need to download it to your device.

External Reference: www.gmanews.tv