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Google killed Play Music in Oct 2020, a service many people loved for 1 feature in particular: its online music file locker with uploaded songs that seamlessly integrated with Play Music'southward streaming catalog. Yous could as well just add together titles y'all own and listen to them without ever having to pay a dime. Luckily, there are a few alternatives that replicate some of Play Music'south capabilities, including its successor YouTube Music.

Existent online digital lockers

The first category is a collection of services that replicate Play Music's feature set almost ane:1 — you tin can upload your files to these platforms and listen to them via the corresponding apps, only as though yous would stream music regularly. However, these services have slightly different approaches than Play Music, so here'due south what you need to scout out for.

YouTube Music

If you don't mind the YouTube Music interface, information technology's the nearly straightforward solution you could hope for. Yous don't demand to create a new account, you lot tin can just keep using your Google login. For a express time, y'all could even direct motility your files from Play Music to the newer platform. Once you've uploaded your files to YouTube Music, you'll find that in that location are some significant differences when it comes to library direction and calculation new songs, though.

YouTube Music strictly separates uploaded music from music bachelor on the streaming platform. When you lot search for your uploaded songs, y'all always have to switch from the YT Music tab to the Uploadssection, a separation that likewise divides the library when you manually curlicue through your songs. When you sort your library past creative person and want to see someone's albums, you're out of luck: You can only run into an overview of all songs when you become this route.

You lot also lose the dedicated desktop uploading tool that Play Music had. When y'all desire to add new files to YouTube Music, yous accept to elevate and drop it on the service's website or rely on an unofficial tertiary-party service.

YouTube Music is a calendar month if you lot want to access the streaming service portion of the service without ads, merely the online locker is gratis and doesn't have ads if you only want access to your own files.

We explored the differences between Play Music and YouTube Music uploads in great detail in this article.

Apple Music

If you can't stand up YouTube Music at all, you might desire to give Apple Music a try. Information technology allows you to upload 100,000 songs just like YouTube Music using iTunes on your computer. And much similar Google's new service, your uploaded library is separated from the music available on the service itself when you search, and then that'due south a limitation you'll take to live with.

To access your music on an Android device, you'll have to pay $ten a month for Apple tree Music, but the digital locker portion of the service called iTunes Match is as well available standalone for $25 a twelvemonth if you lot only use Apple products.

iBroadcast

iBroadcast may non have the prettiest interface, but if you simply want access to your uploaded songs wherever you are, information technology might exist the best solution. The complimentary service lets you shop an unlimited amount of files, comes with Android and iOS apps on meridian of the web app, supports Chromecast, and has some intelligent Spotify-similar playlists. The privately funded Seattle visitor backside information technology promises that it doesn't sell your information (we'll have to take its give-and-take on that) and is currently working on a $three.99/month premium service with extra features to stay afloat in the long term.

iBroadcast fifty-fifty has desktopand Android apps that monitor your folders for new music. If your files don't come with the correct metadata, you tin can adjust information technology after the fact — a Play Music feature YouTube Music never got. In that location's also Chromecast support.

Yous can sign upwardly for the service here.

Media Bound

Media Leap is a recently launched Canadian service that allows you to upload up to 1TB of your own songs on its servers for free. It then lets yous stream that music to upwardly to 5 devices via a web interface and mobile apps, and yous can download songs to your phone for offline listening. In contrast to the other services presented here, Media Bound still feels pretty rough around the edges when it comes to the interface, only streaming itself worked without issues for me. Exist aware that a lot of features you lot usually accept for granted are just slated for subsequently, as a spokesperson told us. The squad is working on a proper queue, Chromecast back up, an equalizer, additional file formats such equally m4a and aac (merely mp3, ogg, and flac are supported right now), one-click album and artist downloads, mass metadata editing, duplicate vocal checking, and a light mode.

When yous sign upwards, the service volition ask you to add together your home address and telephone number, only you don't take to fill out these details — you only need to enter your proper name, electronic mail, and countersign and continue setup. If you need more than 1TB of storage, you tin sign up for a $5 monthly plan — that's when you do need to enter more of your personal data. In the future, the visitor will "most likely" add ads for costless users, then you might accept to pay the subscription fee in the long term if you want to avoid that.

Deezer

Deezer isn't our get-to solution as information technology just lets you upload a maximum of two,000 MP3 files. That limit ways it'south only suitable for people who want to augment the service'due south catalog with a select few titles. Like in YouTube Music, your own files are subconscious abroad and aren't seamlessly integrated with Deezer's library. They only testify up in an actress section in the desktop app, hidden abroad under Favorites in the sidebar -> More than -> My MP3s(which is also where yous upload files). In the Android app, you lot'll only find your uploaded titles under Favoritesin the lesser bar ->Playlists -> My MP3s.Deezer tin can be set up as the default audio provider on Google Home and Nest devices, the only service in this listing to support information technology other than YouTube Music — which is our primary reason for including it in this roundup.

You need to pay for the /calendar month premium subscription to access the online locker, which will also give you access to millions of songs without ad interruptions.

Cloud-hosted digital lockers

Some people might not be comfortable with uploading their music to an unknown online location and might merely desire a better feel when they listen to music added to their existing deject services similar Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or their own server. That's where the post-obit services come up in.

Astiga

Astiga is a web service that offers a convenient interface for listening to music yous've saved to your deject storage. Information technology'll automatically organize your titles into a streaming service-like way once you've synced your library.

The bones functionality is complimentary, but if you often add together music to your cloud library, you might want to pay for the $4/month or $24/year premium subscription. Information technology allows you to sync automatically or as often as y'all want to instead of only once all iii days. Astiga is officially available on Android and the spider web, but there are third-party and experimental apps for other platforms. You can read more well-nigh it and sign up here.

CloudBeats

Like Astiga, CloudBeats is an app that connects to a cloud storage service or your ain server and lets you stream your music files to your phone. The basic functionality is free, but if you want to download files to your phone through the app or ship music to a Chromecast target, y'all need to pay a one-time fee of $6.99.

In contrast to the other options listed here, CloudBeats is only available on Android and iOS. Yous'll need to use another player on your desktop to mind to your songs at that place, so yous might run into roadblocks when you want to sync playlists.

CloudPlayer

CloudPlayer's approach is about identical to CloudBeats'. The Android app connects to your OneDrive, Dropbox, and/or Google Drive storage and organizes recognized audio files in a library. You lot tin can comb through the library by album, artist, playlists, genres, songs, or playlists. Y'all also get admission to online radios. If you don't like the default light theme, you tin change it, and there are quite a few more options in settings if you lot don't like some pattern decisions or the default playback behavior.

A $7.99 in-app purchase gives you more features like a ten-band blaster, loudness normalization, gapless playback, Chromecast and AirPlay support, and an advertisement-gratuitous radio experience. There's no iOS app — the CloudPlayer Android app is the only way to become.

Muzecast

Muzecast is another solution when you want to access your own files in the cloud, and it'due south very much similar to the others listed here. Y'all tin stream content from your calculator, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The histrion supports the usual DRM-free file types. Lossless streaming of upwards to 24/192 KHz is available, songs are buried on your Android device, it has a built-in equalizer, and playlists tin exist synchronized across Android phones and even other apps that support M3U and WPL. Muzecast is besides available on Android Auto, Article of clothing Bone, and Android Goggle box. It works with Chromecast.

I personally dislike the design, just some people might relish its out-of-the-box retro await. There'south a gratuitous, ad-supported version of Muzecast and a $vii.99 ad-gratuitous variant. The Android Goggle box app costs $four.77.

Self-hosted digital lockers

Here are a few solutions that simply work with servers or computers situated in your dwelling house or your webspace.

Plex

Y'all've probably already heard of the home entertainment managing director Plex that organizes media stored on your computer or server — deject services aren't supported (anymore). Information technology wants to exist a one-stop solution for all of your media files similar music, films, TV shows, pictures, and so on. Information technology offers beautiful clients for almost all of your devices.

Plex recently launched a standalone music player called Plexamp. It'due south amongst the prettier solutions with a design that takes cues from Soundcloud and Spotify, written in responsive and mod React Native lawmaking. You demand to pay a calendar month to use information technology, but you can besides examination the regular complimentary Plex app before committing.

Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a completely free and open-source alternative to Plex, congenital on the at present proprietary Emby media server. Its Android app isn't equally pretty equally Plexamp, but information technology admittedly doesn't have to hide its confront, either. You can install the host software on your computer or a server, and once you've got everything indexed, you're ready to go. Jellyfin lets you download offline copies of your media when you're out and about, there's Chromecast back up, an Android TV app, and, almost recently, an Android Auto interface.

Jellyfin doesn't have native support for cloud storage services, but there are solutions if yous really want to. To go started, yous demand to install the server application and the Android app.

Personally, I don't think any of these services nails music storage also equally Play Music did — Google's service just had the best integration between your uploaded files and the streaming catalog. The solutions listed here are either merely really good as streaming services or as storage solutions for music you already own. Unfortunately, there's no turning back at present that Play Music is discontinued, then y'all'll accept to settle for one of these. Of course, yous can also manually motion your music to your telephone and use a actor similar Phonograph.

UPDATE: 2021/01/09 eight:59am PST By MANUEL VONAU

Added more than services

Added Media Leap.

Thanks: DonPorazzo, ikeofkc, Oleg Vorkunov

About The Author

Manuel Vonau (1639 Articles Published)

Manuel is a tech enthusiast and Android fan based in Berlin. When he'south not writing articles for Android Police, he'due south probably out and about every bit a videographer.

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