• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Events
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • ROWFAX
  • THE SPORTS CREDENTIAL
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album/EP Releases
    • Single/Track Releases
    • Industry Events
  • OBITS
  • CHARTS
    • Radio Chart (Current)
    • Radio Chart (Archives)
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Songwriter Chart (Current)
    • Songwriter Chart (Archives)
  • REVIEWS
  • MY STORY
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Newsletter (Current)
    • SIGN UP (FREE!)
    • Newsletter (Archives)
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • STORE
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Cloud Battle Will Rain On Consumers

May 20, 2011/by Freeman

[UPDATE: When this article was published on May 19, only EMI Music and Warner had finalized licensing deals with Apple for its cloud service. Now CNET is reporting that Sony Music has also struck a deal with Apple, making Universal the lone holdout.]
Apple has reportedly signed a licensing deal with EMI Music for a cloud-based music service, and is close to finalizing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music.
Warner Music Group reached an agreement with Apple last month, and having EMI on board will bring the tech giant one step closer to offering a full-featured cloud music service. At present, available cloud options from Google and Amazon are unlicensed.
Once deals from Sony and Universal are finalized, Apple will be in a position to offer a service with more bells and whistles than its rivals. With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on the horizon for June 6, the company might finally be ready to unveil the long-awaited service.
It remains unclear, however, which new options and features will be part of the Apple cloud experience. One possibility is the ability to scan a user’s iTunes library and match tracks with existing master copies in the cloud, thereby eliminating the need to upload gigabytes of files. Apple could also charge a subscription fee for cloud usage.
The stripped-down Amazon cloud interface could stand some improvement. Aside from a clunky file uploading process, it’s essentially just a hard drive with some navigational features to help track down the album, artist or song desired. Furthermore, the service offers no clear way to find any track-specific information like number of plays or year released. On the upside, users can apparently download the files to any computer and new mp3 purchases from Amazon are automatically sent to the cloud.
But there’s also also a strange disconnect between the Cloud Player and Amazon’s massive retail arm. One of the things that has always made Amazon such a vital and exciting place to shop is its discovery and recommendation engine. If a user rates, say, the latest Miranda Lambert album AND an old Talking Heads record, then Amazon makes all kinds of recommendations based on the purchasing habits of other users who own similar things. None of that appears to be happening in the cloud.
This is one area where the iTunes cloud service will likely triumph over its competitors. As an organizing tool, iTunes is without peer. Presumably Apple will inject its cloud product with a similar logic for grouping and sorting music in myriad ways. If it can also include an engaging recommendation tool that will encourage users to explore and discover, Apple will have the edge.
The major labels are rumored to be pulling for Apple to win the cloud battle. If a fully-licensed Apple cloud takes a huge chunk of the digital music marketplace, then Amazon and Google will be forced to secure licenses for their services to stay relevant.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Freeman
Freeman
Freeman
Latest posts by Freeman (see all)
  • Justin Moore Plans Hurricane Relief Concert - November 16, 2012
  • MusicRow No. 1 Song - November 16, 2012
  • Top Digital Companies Form Strategic Partnership - November 16, 2012
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png 0 0 Freeman https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png Freeman2011-05-20 15:05:502011-05-20 15:05:50Cloud Battle Will Rain On Consumers
You might also like
Chris Young Signs with Fitzgerald Hartley
Kitty Wells, The Queen of Country Music, Passes
Weekly Chart Report (10/17/14)
Weekly Chart Report (10/19/12)
Influential Stylist J.J. Cale Passes
Weekly Chart Report (2/22/19)

RECENT NEWS

  • Kane Brown Releases Phil Collins-Inspired Track ‘I Can Feel It’ September 22, 2023
  • Widely Admired Bass Player Dave Roe Passes September 22, 2023
  • Zach Bryan Releases Five-Track ‘Boys Of Faith’ EP September 22, 2023
  • Dustin Lynch To Kick Off His ‘Killed The Cowboy Tour’ In April September 22, 2023
  • Bill Anderson Named First Recipient Of Dr. David Godbold Lifetime Achievement Award September 22, 2023
  • Morgan Wallen Takes ‘Everything I Love’ To Top Of MusicRow Chart September 22, 2023
  • Megan Moroney Drops Deluxe Edition Of Debut Album ‘Lucky’ September 22, 2023
  • Oliver Anthony Signs With UTA September 22, 2023
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: ‘A Lot To Fall In Love With’ This Americana Week September 21, 2023
  • CMA Foundation Honors Music Teachers Of Excellence September 21, 2023
  • Industry Ink: Stephen Wilson Jr., Anne Wilson, BMI, ACM September 21, 2023
  • Tauren Wells To Host 54th Annual GMA Dove Awards September 21, 2023
  • Toby Keith Celebrates Solo Writes On New ‘100% Songwriter’ Project September 21, 2023
  • Billy Strings, The War & Treaty Among Americana Honors & Awards Winners September 21, 2023
  • Russell Dickerson Signs With Range Media Partners September 21, 2023

Like Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2023 Music Row Enterprises, LLC – All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Scroll to top