What Apple’s Licensed Cloud Music Service Will Have That Google & Amazon Don’t
(UPDATED) Google and Apple both recently launched cloud music services without licenses from labels and publishers. The result for both are online music storage services rather than a multi-featured cloud music system. In the last few days a glimpse of the advantages that Apple's music cloud will offer when it officially launches on June 6th because the company waited to negotiate licences are starting to leak.
Apple has reportedly struck deals with EMI, WMG and Sony and talks are ongoing with Universal. Discussions have also begun with publishers; and although there have been no reports of negotiations with indie labels, they've usually jumped on board previous Apple initiatives.
Apple's new cloud service will "scan customers' digital music libraries in iTunes and quickly mirror their collections on its own servers," sources told Businessweek. If a track is not available on iTunes, it will need to be uploaded. But this feature alone will significantly reduce the amount of time the average user needs to set up their music locker.
iTunes in the cloud would also keep users within the familiar interconnected Apple device and service eco-system, a huge advantage over it's competitors. Familiarity plus automatic track mirroring stand in sharp contrast to Google and Amazon's comparatively clunky music lockers; and could, yet again, provide another huge win for Apple.
MORE: It's Official, Apple To Unveil iCloud Next Monday June 6
So, could i torrent an entire music collection, then have Apple give me a legit Fluffy Clouds version of it online?
Hate to be “that guy”, but I think you mean “Google and Amazon” in your lede.
I think cutting the time off of getting your library in the cloud is great, but I don’t think it’s enough to launch Apple far above the other services. Perhaps the experience as a whole will feel more intuitive and gratifying than the other services. That is what Apple’s been stellar at, after all.
The real question is how much it will cost. I’m not going to pay $10 a month for something I already have from Amazon.com for free. Not having to do UL’s is nice, but it’s not worth paying for when I can UL all night while I’m sleeping if I want to.
If this service works anything like MobileMe only the true Apple fanbois will buy in. iDisk has been the worst cloud storage service on the market for years and shows no signs of improvement.
sooooooooo, does that mean people can upload pirated music to Apple in the cloud if they say you can upload tracks that are not in the system. Or Does it mean, if you have it and didn’t buy it from Itunes, can you uploade it anyway. Even if it is available for sale on Itunes.
Bruce,
You are a terrible jounalist. Please hire someone to proofread your articles. The accuracy and grammatical correctness of your articles consistently falls short of professional.
Did you mean journalist?
Did you mean grammar police?
HAHA!
The real question is how much it will cost. I’m not going to pay $10 a month for something I already have from Amazon.com for free. Not having to do UL’s is nice, but it’s not worth paying for when I can UL all night while I’m sleeping if I want to.
If this service works anything like MobileMe only the true Apple fanbois will buy in. iDisk has been the worst cloud storage service on the market for years and shows no signs of improvement.