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Google killed Play Music in October 2020, a service many people loved for one feature in item: its online music file locker with uploaded songs that seamlessly integrated with Play Music's streaming itemize. You could also but add titles you own and heed to them without always having to pay a dime. Luckily, at that place are a few alternatives that replicate some of Play Music'due south capabilities, including its successor YouTube Music.

Real online digital lockers

The first category is a collection of services that replicate Play Music's feature set about 1:1 — you can upload your files to these platforms and listen to them via the respective apps, merely every bit though you would stream music regularly. Still, these services have slightly different approaches than Play Music, so here'south what you demand to scout out for.

YouTube Music

If you don't mind the YouTube Music interface, it's the most straightforward solution you could promise for. You don't need to create a new account, you tin can just continue using your Google login. For a limited fourth dimension, you could even direct move your files from Play Music to the newer platform. Once yous've uploaded your files to YouTube Music, yous'll detect that in that location are some significant differences when it comes to library management and calculation new songs, though.

YouTube Music strictly separates uploaded music from music available on the streaming platform. When you search for your uploaded songs, you e'er have to switch from the YT Music tab to the Uploadssection, a separation that also divides the library when yous manually curlicue through your songs. When yous sort your library past artist and want to run across someone'due south albums, y'all're out of luck: You can only see an overview of all songs when yous go this road.

You too lose the dedicated desktop uploading tool that Play Music had. When you want to add new files to YouTube Music, you take to drag and drop information technology on the service's website or rely on an unofficial third-party service.

YouTube Music is a month if you want to access the streaming service portion of the service without ads, simply the online locker is free and doesn't accept ads if you only want access to your ain files.

We explored the differences betwixt Play Music and YouTube Music uploads in great particular in this article.

Apple Music

If yous can't stand up YouTube Music at all, you might desire to give Apple Music a try. It allows you to upload 100,000 songs only similar 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 you search, then that's a limitation you'll take to live with.

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

iBroadcast

iBroadcast may not have the prettiest interface, merely if y'all only want access to your uploaded songs wherever you are, it might exist the best solution. The free service lets you store an unlimited amount of files, comes with Android and iOS apps on top of the web app, supports Chromecast, and has some intelligent Spotify-similar playlists. The privately funded Seattle visitor behind information technology promises that it doesn't sell your data (nosotros'll accept to take its discussion on that) and is currently working on a $iii.99/month premium service with actress features to stay afloat in the long term.

iBroadcast even has desktopand Android apps that monitor your folders for new music. If your files don't come with the correct metadata, y'all tin adjust it later on the fact — a Play Music characteristic YouTube Music never got. There's also Chromecast support.

You tin sign upwardly for the service here.

Media Spring

Media Jump is a recently launched Canadian service that allows y'all to upload up to 1TB of your own songs on its servers for complimentary. Information technology so lets you stream that music to up to five devices via a web interface and mobile apps, and you tin can download songs to your phone for offline listening. In contrast to the other services presented here, Media Leap still feels pretty rough around the edges when it comes to the interface, but streaming itself worked without issues for me. Be aware that a lot of features y'all usually take for granted are only slated for later, as a spokesperson told us. The team is working on a proper queue, Chromecast support, an blaster, additional file formats such as m4a and aac (only mp3, ogg, and flac are supported right now), one-click anthology and artist downloads, mass metadata editing, duplicate song checking, and a lite mode.

When you sign up, the service will ask you to add together your home address and phone number, but you don't take to fill out these details — you just demand to enter your name, electronic mail, and password and continue setup. If you need more than than 1TB of storage, you can sign up for a $5 monthly plan — that'southward when you do need to enter more of your personal data. In the future, the company will "most likely" add together ads for gratis users, so y'all might have to pay the subscription fee in the long term if you desire to avert that.

Deezer

Deezer isn't our get-to solution as it only lets y'all upload a maximum of 2,000 MP3 files. That limit ways it's merely suitable for people who want to augment 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 but show up in an extra section in the desktop app, hidden abroad under Favorites in the sidebar -> More -> My MP3s(which is also where you upload files). In the Android app, you lot'll only find your uploaded titles under Favoritesin the bottom bar ->Playlists -> My MP3s.Deezer can be set as the default sound provider on Google Abode and Nest devices, the only service in this list to support it other than YouTube Music — which is our primary reason for including it in this roundup.

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

Deject-hosted digital lockers

Some people might not be comfortable with uploading their music to an unknown online location and might just want a better experience when they heed to music added to their existing cloud services like Dropbox, Google Bulldoze, OneDrive, Box, or their own server. That'south where the following services come in.

Astiga

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

The basic functionality is free, but if you frequently 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 equally often as you want to instead of only one time all three days. Astiga is officially available on Android and the web, merely there are tertiary-party and experimental apps for other platforms. Yous can read more than well-nigh it and sign upwards here.

CloudBeats

Similar Astiga, CloudBeats is an app that connects to a cloud storage service or your own server and lets y'all stream your music files to your phone. The basic functionality is free, but if you desire to download files to your phone through the app or send music to a Chromecast target, you demand to pay a one-fourth dimension fee of $6.99.

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

CloudPlayer

CloudPlayer's arroyo is almost 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 can rummage through the library past album, artist, playlists, genres, songs, or playlists. Y'all too get admission to online radios. If y'all don't similar the default light theme, you tin can alter it, 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 more features like a 10-band equalizer, loudness normalization, gapless playback, Chromecast and AirPlay support, and an advertising-free radio feel. There's no iOS app — the CloudPlayer Android app is the just style to become.

Muzecast

Muzecast is another solution when you want to access your own files in the cloud, and it's very much similar to the others listed here. You tin can stream content from your figurer, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The histrion supports the usual DRM-free file types. Lossless streaming of up to 24/192 KHz is available, songs are buried on your Android device, it has a born equalizer, and playlists can be synchronized across Android phones and even other apps that support M3U and WPL. Muzecast is as well bachelor on Android Motorcar, Wear OS, and Android TV. Information technology works with Chromecast.

I personally dislike the design, merely some people might relish its out-of-the-box retro expect. At that place's a free, advertisement-supported version of Muzecast and a $vii.99 advertising-gratis variant. The Android TV app costs $iv.77.

Self-hosted digital lockers

Here are a few solutions that only piece of work with servers or computers situated in your home or your webspace.

Plex

Yous've probably already heard of the home entertainment manager Plex that organizes media stored on your estimator or server — cloud services aren't supported (anymore). Information technology wants to be a one-stop solution for all of your media files like music, films, Boob tube shows, pictures, and and so on. It offers beautiful clients for almost all of your devices.

Plex recently launched a standalone music histrion called Plexamp. Information technology'south amid the prettier solutions with a design that takes cues from Soundcloud and Spotify, written in responsive and modernistic React Native lawmaking. You need to pay a month to utilize it, but yous can as well exam the regular free Plex app before committing.

Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a completely free and open-source alternative to Plex, built on the at present proprietary Emby media server. Its Android app isn't as pretty as Plexamp, merely it admittedly doesn't have to hide its face, either. Yous can install the host software on your computer or a server, and one time you lot've got everything indexed, you're prepare to become. Jellyfin lets y'all download offline copies of your media when you're out and about, there's Chromecast support, an Android TV app, and, most recently, an Android Motorcar interface.

Jellyfin doesn't take native support for deject storage services, but there are solutions if you lot really want to. To become started, you need to install the server awarding 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 but really skillful as streaming services or as storage solutions for music you already own. Unfortunately, there's no turning back now that Play Music is discontinued, so you'll have to settle for one of these. Of course, you can also manually move your music to your telephone and employ a player similar Phonograph.

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

Added more than services

Added Media Leap.

Thank you: DonPorazzo, ikeofkc, Oleg Vorkunov

About The Author

Manuel Vonau (1637 Manufactures Published)

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

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