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Google killed Play Music in October 2020, a service many people loved for one feature in particular: its online music file locker with uploaded songs that seamlessly integrated with Play Music'south streaming catalog. You could also only add titles you lot own and listen to them without always having to pay a dime. Luckily, in that location are a few alternatives that replicate some of Play Music'southward capabilities, including its successor YouTube Music.

Real online digital lockers

The first category is a collection of services that replicate Play Music's feature ready almost i:ane — you tin can upload your files to these platforms and heed to them via the respective apps, only as though you would stream music regularly. Nonetheless, these services have slightly dissimilar approaches than Play Music, and then hither's what you demand to watch out for.

YouTube Music

If you don't mind the YouTube Music interface, it's the most straightforward solution you could hope for. You don't need to create a new business relationship, you tin can just continue using your Google login. For a limited time, you could fifty-fifty directly move your files from Play Music to the newer platform. In one case y'all've uploaded your files to YouTube Music, you'll observe that there are some pregnant differences when it comes to library management and calculation new songs, though.

YouTube Music strictly separates uploaded music from music bachelor on the streaming platform. When y'all search for your uploaded songs, you always have to switch from the YT Music tab to the Uploadsdepartment, a separation that also divides the library when yous manually scroll through your songs. When yous sort your library by creative person and desire to see someone's albums, you're out of luck: You can only meet an overview of all songs when yous become this route.

You also lose the dedicated desktop uploading tool that Play Music had. When y'all want to add together new files to YouTube Music, you lot have to drag 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, but the online locker is gratis and doesn't have ads if y'all 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 tree Music

If you can't stand YouTube Music at all, y'all might want to requite Apple Music a endeavour. It allows you to upload 100,000 songs merely like YouTube Music using iTunes on your computer. And much like Google's new service, your uploaded library is separated from the music available on the service itself when y'all search, so that's a limitation you'll take to live with.

To admission your music on an Android device, you'll have to pay $10 a month for Apple Music, but the digital locker portion of the service called iTunes Match is also bachelor standalone for $25 a yr if you lot only use Apple products.

iBroadcast

iBroadcast may not accept the prettiest interface, but if you only want access to your uploaded songs wherever you are, it might be the best solution. The complimentary service lets y'all store an unlimited amount of files, comes with Android and iOS apps on superlative of the spider web app, supports Chromecast, and has some intelligent Spotify-like playlists. The privately funded Seattle company backside it promises that it doesn't sell your data (we'll have to have its word on that) and is currently working on a $3.99/month premium service with actress 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, y'all can arrange it later on the fact — a Play Music feature YouTube Music never got. In that location'due south as well Chromecast support.

You lot tin sign upward for the service here.

Media Leap

Media Leap is a recently launched Canadian service that allows you lot to upload upwardly to 1TB of your own songs on its servers for free. It and then lets you stream that music to up to five devices via a web interface and mobile apps, and y'all tin download songs to your phone for offline listening. In contrast to the other services presented here, Media Spring even so feels pretty crude around the edges when information technology comes to the interface, simply streaming itself worked without issues for me. Be enlightened that a lot of features you usually take for granted are only slated for later, every bit a spokesperson told us. The team is working on a proper queue, Chromecast support, an equalizer, boosted file formats such equally m4a and aac (but mp3, ogg, and flac are supported right at present), ane-click anthology and artist downloads, mass metadata editing, duplicate song checking, and a light mode.

When y'all sign up, the service will inquire you to add your home address and telephone number, but you don't have to fill out these details — you just need to enter your name, e-mail, and password and keep setup. If you need more than 1TB of storage, you can sign upwardly for a $5 monthly program — that'due south when you do need to enter more than of your personal data. In the future, the company will "about probable" add ads for complimentary users, so you might have to pay the subscription fee in the long term if you lot want to avert that.

Deezer

Deezer isn't our go-to solution as it only lets you upload a maximum of 2,000 MP3 files. That limit means it'south only suitable for people who want to broaden the service's catalog with a select few titles. Like in YouTube Music, your own files are hidden away and aren't seamlessly integrated with Deezer's library. They only testify upward in an extra section in the desktop app, hidden away under Favorites in the sidebar -> More than -> My MP3s(which is likewise where you upload files). In the Android app, you'll simply detect your uploaded titles under Favoritesin the bottom bar ->Playlists -> My MP3s.Deezer can be set as the default audio provider on Google Home and Nest devices, the only service in this list to support it other than YouTube Music — which is our main reason for including it in this roundup.

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

Cloud-hosted digital lockers

Some people might non be comfy with uploading their music to an unknown online location and might only want a better feel when they listen to music added to their existing cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or their ain server. That's where the following services come in.

Astiga

Astiga is a web service that offers a user-friendly interface for listening to music you've saved to your cloud storage. It'll automatically organize your titles into a streaming service-like fashion once you've synced your library.

The bones functionality is free, but if you oft add 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 every bit you want to instead of only once all three days. Astiga is officially available on Android and the spider web, simply there are third-political party and experimental apps for other platforms. You can read more nearly it and sign up here.

CloudBeats

Like Astiga, CloudBeats is an app that connects to a cloud storage service or your own server and lets you stream your music files to your phone. The bones functionality is gratuitous, but if you desire to download files to your telephone through the app or send music to a Chromecast target, you lot need to pay a one-fourth dimension fee of $six.99.

In contrast to the other options listed here, CloudBeats is but available on Android and iOS. You'll need to use another player on your desktop to listen to your songs there, so you might run into roadblocks when y'all desire to sync playlists.

CloudPlayer

CloudPlayer'south approach is virtually 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 can comb through the library past album, artist, playlists, genres, songs, or playlists. You lot also get access to online radios. If you don't like the default light theme, you tin can change information technology, and there are quite a few more options in settings if you lot don't like some design decisions or the default playback behavior.

A $7.99 in-app purchase gives you lot more features similar a 10-band blaster, loudness normalization, gapless playback, Chromecast and AirPlay support, and an ad-gratuitous radio experience. At that place's no iOS app — the CloudPlayer Android app is the only way to go.

Muzecast

Muzecast is another solution when you want to access your ain files in the cloud, and it'south very much similar to the others listed here. You can stream content from your calculator, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The player supports the usual DRM-costless file types. Lossless streaming of up to 24/192 KHz is bachelor, songs are cached on your Android device, it has a built-in equalizer, and playlists tin can be synchronized beyond Android phones and even other apps that back up M3U and WPL. Muzecast is besides available on Android Auto, Wear OS, and Android TV. It works with Chromecast.

I personally dislike the pattern, but some people might savor its out-of-the-box retro wait. There's a gratis, advertising-supported version of Muzecast and a $vii.99 ad-costless variant. The Android TV app costs $4.77.

Cocky-hosted digital lockers

Hither are a few solutions that but work with servers or computers situated in your abode or your webspace.

Plex

You've probably already heard of the home entertainment manager Plex that organizes media stored on your computer or server — cloud services aren't supported (anymore). It wants to exist a 1-end solution for all of your media files like music, films, Television shows, pictures, and so on. Information technology offers cute clients for nearly all of your devices.

Plex recently launched a standalone music player chosen Plexamp. It's among the prettier solutions with a blueprint that takes cues from Soundcloud and Spotify, written in responsive and modern React Native lawmaking. You demand to pay a month to utilise it, but you can also examination the regular free Plex app before committing.

Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a completely free and open-source alternative to Plex, built on the now proprietary Emby media server. Its Android app isn't as pretty as Plexamp, but information technology absolutely doesn't take to hide its face up, either. Yous can install the host software on your calculator 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 well-nigh, there's Chromecast support, an Android TV app, and, nigh recently, an Android Auto interface.

Jellyfin doesn't accept native support for deject storage services, but there are solutions if you really want to. To get started, you demand to install the server application and the Android app.

Personally, I don't think whatever of these services nails music storage besides as Play Music did — Google'southward service only had the best integration betwixt your uploaded files and the streaming catalog. The solutions listed here are either merely really expert as streaming services or as storage solutions for music you already ain. Unfortunately, there's no turning back now that Play Music is discontinued, and then you'll have to settle for one of these. Of course, you can also manually motion your music to your phone and employ a thespian like Phonograph.

UPDATE: 2021/01/09 8:59am PST BY MANUEL VONAU

Added more than services

Added Media Leap.

Thanks: DonPorazzo, ikeofkc, Oleg Vorkunov

About The Author

Manuel Vonau (1637 Articles Published)

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

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