Amazon officially introduces ‘Cloud Drive’ music service

By on Mar 29, 2011 at 6:31 AM
Services March 29, 2011

Right on queue, Amazon has announced a new, cloud-based, music storage service dubbed Cloud Drive. The new offering will allow users to store up to 5GB of music in Amazon’s new, online locker and playback uploaded tracks via their Android smartphone, Android tablet, Mac, or PC. Users that purchase a complete album via Amazon’s MP3 store will automatically be upgraded to 20GB of storage, free of charge, and tracks purchased on Amazon are automatically uploaded to the cloud; purchased tracks do not count towards your storage quota. Stored music can be played-back using the Cloud Player for Web or Cloud Player for Android software (available in the Market now) and additional storage plans starting at $20 per year (we know some of you have large music collections). Congratulations Amazon, you are officially the first to market. The full press release is after the break.

Introducing Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web, and Amazon Cloud Player for Android

Buy anywhere, play anywhere and keep all your music in one place

Start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage – upgrade to 20 GB free with purchase of any MP3 album

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the launch of Amazon Cloud Drive (www.amazon.com/clouddrive), Amazon Cloud Player for Web (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer) and Amazon Cloud Player for Android (www.amazon.com/cloudplayerandroid). Together, these services enable customers to securely store music in the cloud and play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC, wherever they are. Customers can easily upload their music library to Amazon Cloud Drive and can save any new Amazon MP3 purchases directly to their Amazon Cloud Drive for free.

“We’re excited to take this leap forward in the digital experience,” said Bill Carr, vice president of Movies and Music at Amazon. “The launch of Cloud Drive, Cloud Player for Web and Cloud Player for Android eliminates the need for constant software updates as well as the use of thumb drives and cables to move and manage music.”

“Our customers have told us they don’t want to download music to their work computers or phones because they find it hard to move music around to different devices,” Carr said. “Now, whether at work, home, or on the go, customers can buy music from Amazon MP3, store it in the cloud and play it anywhere.”

Store Music for Free

Customers automatically start with 5 GB of Cloud Drive storage to upload their digital music library, and those who purchase an Amazon MP3 album will be upgraded to 20 GB of Cloud Drive space. New Amazon MP3 purchases saved directly to Cloud Drive are stored for free and do not count against a customer’s storage quota.

Adding Music to Cloud Drive

Amazon’s easy uploading process makes it simple for customers to save their music library to their Cloud Drive. Files can be stored in AAC or MP3 formats and will be uploaded to Cloud Drive in the original bit rate. Customers can hand-pick particular songs, artists, albums or playlists to upload or simply upload their entire music library.

Cloud Player for Web

Customers who have a computer with a Web browser can listen to their music. Cloud Player for Web currently supports Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari for Mac, and Chrome. Cloud Player for Web lets customers easily manage their music with download and streaming options. Customers don’t need to worry about regularly updating software on their computer to enjoy music, and Amazon MP3 customers can continue to use iTunes and Windows Media Player to add their music to their iPods and MP3 players.

Cloud Player for Android

Cloud Player for Android is now bundled into the new version of the Amazon MP3 App; it includes the full Amazon MP3 Store and the mobile version of Cloud Player. Customers can use the app to play music stored on their Cloud Drive and music stored locally on their device. Features include the ability to search and browse by artist, album or song, create playlists and download music from Cloud Drive.

Secure Storage

Customers never need to worry about losing their music collection to a hard drive crash again. Files are securely stored on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and each file is uploaded to Cloud Drive in its original bit rate. Customers can buy music anywhere and know that their MP3s are safely stored in Cloud Drive and accessible from any device.

Store More than Music

Cloud Drive allows customers to upload and store all kinds of digital files; music, photos, videos and documents can be stored securely and are available via web browser on any computer. In addition to the 5 GB of free storage, customers can purchase storage plans starting at $20 a year for 20 GB.

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55 Comments

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  • Tim242

    HaHa too late. We already guessed the past in Todd’s article today.

  • DRM7

    Why no support for WMA? Most of my albums are WMA going back years.

    • Anonymous

      Time to convert

    • http://twitter.com/taskinhand task in hand

      fail.

    • Anonymous

      WMA also died as a standard format, going back years :/

      There are quite a few free utilities that convert your WMA to MP3, so if you set it overnight you should be good to go.

  • http://twitter.com/snidely1459 Snidely

    Right on “cue,” not “queue.”

    • Tim242

      Ummm no…it’s queue.

      • Bullet Tooth Tony

        Ummm… no… it’s cue. A cue is something that triggers an action, a hint given, or being inserted… so “right on cue” means you did it at the perfect time.

        If ‘queue’ is meant, as in… the word that means a line of people waiting their turn… then it was merely artistic flair by the author. A play on words. Which still makes cue correct.

      • Tim242

        Maybe you should look up the definition of cue…it is not even close to
        what you have stated.
        1. (esp. on stage) something that signals speech or action
        2.rod used to strike the ball in billiards, pool, etc.
        3. To inform; give instructions, information, news, etc., to

      • Guest

        @Tim242

        Your definition proves you wrong.
        cue = something that signals speech or action
        therefore
        “right on cue” = performing the action at the correct time as tony said.

      • Bullet Tooth Tony

        Tim… take your own advice. Now that you have quoted the noun, which proves you wrong all by itself, go on to the verb and keep digging your hole.
        –verb (used with object)
        7. to provide with a cue or indication; give a cue to; prompt: Will you cue me on my lines?
        8. to insert, or direct to come in, in a specific place in a musical or dramatic performance (usually followed by in or into ): to cue in a lighting effect.
        9. to search for and reach (a specific track on a recording) (sometimes followed by up ).

        Then, for laughs, continue on to the Idioms:
        —Idioms
        10. cue (someone) in, Informal . to inform; give instructions, information, news, etc., to: Cue him in on the plans for the dance.
        11. miss a cue,
        a. to fail to respond to a cue.
        b. Informal . to miss the point: You could tell by his expression that he had missed a cue.

        Still think I’m the one that needs to look up the definition of cue? Shit dude, it’s synonyms are signal, sign, clue, key, tip, inkling. Since there was a story before about Amazon “possibly” launching a cloud service “this week”… then the writing should be “right on cue” since they took the hint and announced it “this week.”

        Maybe you should look up the definition of queue since you obviously have such a firm grasp on the English language.

      • http://infotainmentempire.blogspot.com Rob

        This guy’s a troll. We should get him banned. He makes absolutely no sense.

      • joshie

        “Cue” is absolutely correct.

      • Anonymous

        Look at the synonyms for cue.
        prompt, signal, show, indicate, remind, nod

        Compare to the synonyms for queue:
        line up, stand in line, get in line, wait in line, wait your turn, queue up, form a queue

        Cue is the only one that makes sense, and is in fact the correct usage.

      • Yash

        Illiterate fool

      • Tim242

        Maybe you should look up the definition of cue.
        1. (esp. on stage) something that signals speech or action
        2.rod used to strike the ball in billiards, pool, etc.
        3. To inform; give instructions, information, news, etc., to

        Now, who’s the illiterate fool?

      • Anonymous

        No, it’s cue. The definition of cue has more uses than you show. Look it up at dictionary . com.

      • Tim242

        I did…and listed every one of them.

      • http://infotainmentempire.blogspot.com Rob

        Epic fail on trying to correct someone.

      • Tim242

        Really? See definitions.

      • Bullet Tooth Tony

        I included all the definitions that you conveniently left out, Tim… as if 1 and 3 of yours didn’t prove you wrong. The more you try to insist you’re right, the more we all know you’re as dumb as a box of rocks. The statement is, always has been, and always will be “right on cue.”

        They aren’t waiting in line… which is what a queue is. They are announcing something as expected, or in other words “To inform; give instructions, information, news, etc to” us…

      • http://infotainmentempire.blogspot.com Rob

        Yes, I saw your definitions, and they made me realize how stupid you are. Seriously, quit trolling.

      • Tim242

        So says the troll…

      • sirpaul

        @Tim really, how can you be so stupid? You’ve got to be a troll…

      • sirpaul

        Comments like these make me laugh…and miss the downrank button.

      • Tim242

        You should downrank yourself for responding to a thread that is weeks old.
        (I’m responding to you from the email notification.)

    • Anonymous

      @Snidely

      You are correct, it is “cue.” I opened this article just to find if someone brought this up at all.

      However, I am going to choose to give Andrew the benefit of the doubt and assume he was making a pun (since this article is about the new music service, in which you tend to queue songs into a playlist).

      Still, a corny chuckle at the end of the word could have at least affirmed that he was making a pun instead of typing illiterately.

  • http://twitter.com/cordial david carter

    How are Amazon first to market? Over here in Europe we’ve all been using Spotify for well over a year, its cloud and has a massive amount of music.

    • http://twitter.com/perderedeus Tim Gulics

      Does Spotify allow you to upload your own music, or only stream what is available on their service? That may be the difference here?

      • http://twitter.com/cordial david carter

        You can upload your own library and play the tracks within Spotify yes but it doesn’t then put it in the cloud. For me, it’s removed the need for a library at all, something which I never thought I’d say. Some people will still no doubt claim that they will always want a library of their own etc but I’d suggest many of them will not have used Spotify.

      • Anonymous

        And music subscription services exist in the US, too. But this isn’t a music subscription service, it’s a way to stream music you already own, without worrying about syncing content to a mobile device. They serve different needs. In the US, at least, services like Spotify will never be free, so you can either stream what you want as long as you pay a monthly fee, or stream what you own as long as you pay an annual fee for the storage you need. Choice is good.

  • Parker

    Wake me when it works on an iPhone.

    • http://twitter.com/slbailey2 slbailey2

      It will not work on anything provided by Apple. Apple is a CLOSED system!!

    • Guest

      Do you really think Apple is going to allow a competing service to iTunes on their devices? Nice try, dude.

      If you wanted an open platform, you shouldn’t have bought into a closed platform.

    • Anonymous

      You can’t download anything from Amazon MP3 or Amazon Appstore on an iOS because they are competing services to the iTunes store and iOS App Store respectively. Logically, you would also be barred from using this Cloud Player since it competes with the iTunes Store indirectly.

  • http://twitter.com/gnomehole The Gnome

    First to market? How short sighted is that. Services like Spotify, Dropbox and others have been doing this for years already.

    I don’t even know why I’d need this – I already have multiple services that do the same, and aren’t limiting on what mobile devices you can use.

    I buy things from Amazon all the time, but music and cloud storage has no value to me. This doesn’t seem like a huge deal.

    • http://www.pc-prime.com PCPrime

      Dropbox is not the same thing.

      Dropbox copies the files over to each computer and to the web. I highly doubt you are keeping 20 gigs of music on each and everyone of your devices.

    • Josh H

      What about mSpot? Isn’t it the same idea? Upload your music and then stream from the web or apps?

    • Brownale420

      You can do this with iDisk already, although just by selecting the file – it doesn’t play through itunes (or ipod app), though.

      I agree, though, I can synch my music to multiple devices and still have enough room on there for apps, pictures, movies, etc – so not sure if this is worth it. I’m counting on Apple to make the experience much more intuitive if it is going to work.

    • mdiddy

      Don’t forget Audiogalaxy. The main difference here is that this requires an “always on computer” (or in geek speak – a server :P ) The amazon cloud brings this functionality to mere mortals.

  • http://twitter.com/taskinhand task in hand

    So it’s basically an app to access S3? Except it only allows mp3 files. And there’s no iphone version. meh.

    • Guest

      You’re not going to get an iPhone version because there is no way Apple will allow a competing service to iTunes on their devices.

      Open vs. closed platform, yadda yadda yadda. You knew what you were getting into when you bought an iPhone, so stop your whining.

  • http://twitter.com/taskinhand task in hand

    @Tim242 imbecile

  • http://twitter.com/xfrosch Jeff Carroll

    ok, so how does this improve on the 5GB of music that’s ALREADY ON MY PHONE? Besides unnecessarily eating a shitload of cellular bandwidth, that is. Morons.

    • Guest

      Maybe because you want to use the 5GB of MicroSD space for something other than music storage? Like, gee, I dunno, shooting HD video?

      5GB doesn’t go very far. Most people have a much larger music collection than just 5GB.

  • http://twitter.com/tn678 Tony

    It’s very unpolished. I wish they would automatically know all of the music I bought in the past, instead of me uploading it back to them. And their settings are useless.

  • Eltro

    With Att new capped data plans, why would i want to stream music? Would rather store it and play it for free.

    • Guest

      Well, maybe you should switch to a decent carrier like Sprint. Plenty of uncapped 4G bandwidth over here, Eltro.

  • Ray2Jerry

    And not available outside of the USA too I’m guessing… love all your new shiny toys and tech advances Amazon, now to discover how to use Google Maps to see that there is a massive market to the North that you repeatedly neglect and quite frankly alienate every time you come out with something new that we can’t get in Canada for no clear reason.

    I’ve easily spent $300 or more in the Android Market… and I won’t spend a penny in the Amazon Market once they finally bless our forgotten souls and powerful currency to mix with theirs.

    rAy

    • Anonymous

      The decision to not offer the service outside the US has nothing to do with Amazon. It has everything to do with the way music rights are handled across territories. If you want to blame someone, blame the record labels. Amazon would love to offer this service elsewhere because it means additional revenue, but they can’t. Same reason Spotify isn’t available in the US.

  • http://twitter.com/fattychance Fattychance

    Works for me. Happy to have it….all that rooting…no need to copy over music now.

  • Nick L

    So I can pay 20 bucks for 20 gigs, or I can buy a 10 dollar album? Why would anyone pay 20?

    • http://ryanb.pip.verisignlabs.com/ Ryan B

      That’s of course what Amazon is banking on. They’d rather you buy your music from them.

  • Dthomas2

    WebDAV?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000722296108 Herman Guerra

    Go Amazon tear down the Ecosystems!

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