By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-04-04 11:21:38 | Word Count: 664
Yesterday Amazon launched two programs that are set to transform the way that digital music is stored and played. Amazon is now offering what is called a music locker. The music locker is comprised of Cloud Drive. Cloud Drive is being marketed as a hard drive that allows users to store uploaded music along with other documents, videos and pictures. You can search for music to upload using Amazons’ servers via your web browser. By using Cloud Drive as content storage Amazon users won’t have to constantly upload songs purchased on Amazon. Instead of trying to argue about the issue of licensing, Amazon has moved on to the option of storage.
Once stored in Cloud Drive, users can create playlists and organize their music categorically on Cloud Player, their other offering. Songs are played using the internet or Android. Any songs that are bought on Amazon will be automatically uploaded to Cloud Player. Cloud Player can even search iTunes music content to find more music to upload. Offered through both a web app and an Android app, Cloud Player is set to please a diverse audience.
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Traditionally, if you wanted to play a song from a computer of cell phone, you had to purchase it and download it onto a particular advice. If you wanted that song to be played on multiple devices, you had to purchase and download the song on each desired device. For a long time, music publishers and record companies have been resistant to changes that might decrease revenue from digital music sales. The debate has always been about revenue. Customers would prefer not to purchase the same song over and over again, while the record companies wish for just the opposite.
Google and Apple have been trying to make this dream a reality. They all have been trying hard to develop a cloud-like music player that the record companies could agree with. Google, Apple and Amazon just want their users to be able to stream music more freely. Since the Cloud Player uses the Android operating system, when Google finally gets their cloud-based streaming service together, Amazon will likely have stiff competition. Unlike Amazon, Google and Apple want users to literally be able to stream music on any device with only one download or purchase per song. Amazon only offers this for songs purchased through Amazon.
The way that it is set up now, Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player users can upload songs via iTunes. Imagine how this will play out after Apple joins in with a similar service. Amazon had to be the first to offer these kinds of programs or they wouldn’t stand a chance in a few months when Google and Apple get their acts together. Right now Amazon is offering each user five gigabytes for free and 20 gigabytes with the purchase of an album from Amazon. Additional gigabytes will cost $1 each. This incentive may help current and potential Amazon users to take advantage and sign on to the Cloud Drive and Cloud Player platforms.
