Read update
  • Added more services

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's streaming itemize. You could also merely add together titles you own and mind to them without ever having to pay a dime. Luckily, there are a few alternatives that replicate some of Play Music's capabilities, including its successor YouTube Music.

Real online digital lockers

The first category is a collection of services that replicate Play Music'south feature set near 1:1 — you tin can upload your files to these platforms and heed to them via the respective apps, but as though you would stream music regularly. However, these services have slightly different approaches than Play Music, so here's what you demand to sentinel out for.

YouTube Music

If y'all don't mind the YouTube Music interface, it'due south the nearly straightforward solution you could promise for. You lot don't need to create a new account, you can but continue using your Google login. For a limited time, yous could fifty-fifty directly move your files from Play Music to the newer platform. Once you've uploaded your files to YouTube Music, you'll find that at that place 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 lot search for your uploaded songs, you always have to switch from the YT Music tab to the Uploadssection, a separation that also divides the library when you manually scroll through your songs. When you sort your library by artist and desire to see someone's albums, y'all're out of luck: You can only see an overview of all songs when you lot go this road.

You also lose the defended desktop uploading tool that Play Music had. When you want to add new files to YouTube Music, you have to drag and drop it on the service's website or rely on an unofficial third-party service.

YouTube Music is a calendar month if y'all desire to access the streaming service portion of the service without ads, but the online locker is gratis and doesn't take ads if y'all merely want admission to your own files.

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

Apple Music

If you tin can't stand YouTube Music at all, you lot might want to give Apple tree Music a try. It allows you to upload 100,000 songs just similar YouTube Music using iTunes on your estimator. And much like Google's new service, your uploaded library is separated from the music bachelor on the service itself when y'all search, so that's a limitation you'll have to live with.

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

iBroadcast

iBroadcast may not have the prettiest interface, but if you only want access to your uploaded songs wherever you are, information technology might be the all-time solution. The gratuitous 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-like playlists. The privately funded Seattle company behind it promises that it doesn't sell your data (nosotros'll have to accept its word on that) and is currently working on a $3.99/month premium service with extra 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 up with the correct metadata, you can adjust it after the fact — a Play Music feature YouTube Music never got. At that place's also Chromecast support.

You tin sign up for the service hither.

Media Leap

Media Spring is a recently launched Canadian service that allows yous to upload up to 1TB of your own songs on its servers for free. It then lets you stream that music to upward to v devices via a spider web interface and mobile apps, and you lot can download songs to your phone for offline listening. In contrast to the other services presented hither, Media Leap even so feels pretty rough effectually the edges when it comes to the interface, but streaming itself worked without issues for me. Be aware that a lot of features you normally accept for granted are only slated for afterwards, every bit a spokesperson told u.s.a.. The team is working on a proper queue, Chromecast back up, an equalizer, additional file formats such every bit m4a and aac (only mp3, ogg, and flac are supported right now), i-click anthology and creative person downloads, mass metadata editing, indistinguishable song checking, and a light mode.

When you sign up, the service will inquire you to add together your home accost and phone number, simply you don't have to fill out these details — you only need to enter your proper name, electronic mail, and password and proceed setup. If you need more than than 1TB of storage, y'all tin can sign upwards for a $v monthly plan — that's when you do need to enter more of your personal data. In the time to come, the visitor will "most likely" add ads for gratis users, and so you lot might accept to pay the subscription fee in the long term if you want to avert that.

Deezer

Deezer isn't our go-to solution as it only lets you upload a maximum of ii,000 MP3 files. That limit means it's only 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'due south library. They simply show up in an extra department in the desktop app, hidden away under Favorites in the sidebar -> More than -> My MP3s(which is also where you upload files). In the Android app, you'll simply find 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.

Y'all demand to pay for the /month premium subscription to access the online locker, which volition also requite you access to millions of songs without advertizing interruptions.

Cloud-hosted digital lockers

Some people might non exist comfortable with uploading their music to an unknown online location and might just want a improve experience when they mind to music added to their existing cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or their own server. That'south 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 one time you've synced your library.

The basic functionality is free, but if y'all oft add together music to your deject library, yous might desire to pay for the $4/month or $24/twelvemonth premium subscription. It allows you to sync automatically or as often as you desire to instead of just once all 3 days. Astiga is officially available on Android and the web, but there are third-party and experimental apps for other platforms. You can read more about it and sign upwardly here.

CloudBeats

Like Astiga, CloudBeats is an app that connects to a cloud storage service or your own server and lets yous stream your music files to your phone. The basic functionality is free, just if you want to download files to your phone through the app or send music to a Chromecast target, y'all demand to pay a old fee of $6.99.

In contrast to the other options listed here, CloudBeats is simply available on Android and iOS. You lot'll need to use another thespian on your desktop to listen to your songs there, then you might run into roadblocks when you want to sync playlists.

CloudPlayer

CloudPlayer's approach 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. Y'all can comb through the library by album, creative person, playlists, genres, songs, or playlists. Yous also get access to online radios. If you don't like the default light theme, you can change it, and at that place are quite a few more options in settings if you don't similar some pattern decisions or the default playback behavior.

A $7.99 in-app buy gives you more features like a ten-band equalizer, loudness normalization, gapless playback, Chromecast and AirPlay support, and an advertizing-costless radio experience. There's no iOS app — the CloudPlayer Android app is the only mode to get.

Muzecast

Muzecast is another solution when you lot want to access your own files in the cloud, and information technology's very much like to the others listed hither. Yous tin stream content from your figurer, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The thespian supports the usual DRM-free file types. Lossless streaming of up to 24/192 KHz is available, songs are cached on your Android device, information technology has a congenital-in equalizer, and playlists tin be synchronized beyond Android phones and even other apps that support M3U and WPL. Muzecast is also available on Android Auto, Clothing OS, and Android Idiot box. It works with Chromecast.

I personally dislike the pattern, simply some people might enjoy its out-of-the-box retro expect. There's a gratuitous, advertising-supported version of Muzecast and a $vii.99 ad-free variant. The Android Idiot box app costs $4.77.

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 calculator or server — cloud services aren't supported (anymore). It wants to be a one-stop solution for all of your media files similar music, films, Boob tube shows, pictures, and then on. It offers beautiful clients for near all of your devices.

Plex recently launched a standalone music thespian called Plexamp. It'due south amidst the prettier solutions with a design that takes cues from Soundcloud and Spotify, written in responsive and modern React Native code. You need to pay a month to use it, merely you tin too exam the regular free Plex app before committing.

Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a completely complimentary and open-source alternative to Plex, congenital on the now proprietary Emby media server. Its Android app isn't as pretty equally Plexamp, but information technology absolutely doesn't have to hide its face up, either. You can install the host software on your computer or a server, and in one case you've got everything indexed, you lot're ready to go. Jellyfin lets you download offline copies of your media when y'all're out and almost, there's Chromecast support, an Android TV app, and, most recently, an Android Motorcar interface.

Jellyfin doesn't have native back up for deject storage services, merely at that place are solutions if you really desire to. To get started, you need to install the server application and the Android app.

Personally, I don't think any of these services nails music storage as well as Play Music did — Google's service just had the best integration betwixt your uploaded files and the streaming catalog. The solutions listed here are either only really good as streaming services or as storage solutions for music you already ain. Unfortunately, in that location's no turning back now that Play Music is discontinued, so you lot'll have to settle for 1 of these. Of course, y'all can also manually move your music to your phone and utilise a player like Phonograph.

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

Added more services

Added Media Spring.

Cheers: DonPorazzo, ikeofkc, Oleg Vorkunov

About The Author

Manuel Vonau (1638 Articles Published)

Manuel is a tech enthusiast and Android fan based in Berlin. When he'due south non writing articles for Android Law, he's probably out and about every bit a videographer.

More From Manuel Vonau