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Google killed Play Music in October 2020, a service many people loved for one characteristic in particular: its online music file locker with uploaded songs that seamlessly integrated with Play Music'south streaming itemize. You could also just add together titles you own and heed 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 drove of services that replicate Play Music's feature ready almost i:1 — you tin can upload your files to these platforms and heed to them via the respective apps, simply as though you lot would stream music regularly. Withal, these services have slightly unlike approaches than Play Music, and then here's what you need to watch out for.

YouTube Music

If you lot don't mind the YouTube Music interface, it's the most straightforward solution yous could hope for. Yous don't demand to create a new account, you tin but keep using your Google login. For a limited time, y'all could even directly movement your files from Play Music to the newer platform. One time you've uploaded your files to YouTube Music, you'll find that in that location are some significant differences when it comes to library direction and adding new songs, though.

YouTube Music strictly separates uploaded music from music available on the streaming platform. When you 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 want to come across someone's albums, you're out of luck: You can only see an overview of all songs when you become this route.

Y'all as well lose the dedicated 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 3rd-political party service.

YouTube Music is a month if you want to admission the streaming service portion of the service without ads, but the online locker is complimentary and doesn't have ads if you 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 Music

If you can't stand YouTube Music at all, yous might desire to give Apple Music a try. It allows you to upload 100,000 songs merely like YouTube Music using iTunes on your computer. And much similar Google'southward new service, your uploaded library is separated from the music available on the service itself when you search, and then that's a limitation you'll have to live with.

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

iBroadcast

iBroadcast may not take the prettiest interface, but if y'all only want access to your uploaded songs wherever you are, it might be the all-time solution. The free service lets you shop an unlimited corporeality of files, comes with Android and iOS apps on tiptop of the web app, supports Chromecast, and has some intelligent Spotify-similar playlists. The privately funded Seattle company backside it promises that it doesn't sell your data (we'll have to take its word on that) and is currently working on a $iii.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, y'all can adapt it after the fact — a Play Music feature YouTube Music never got. In that location's also Chromecast support.

You lot can sign up for the service here.

Media Jump

Media Leap is a recently launched Canadian service that allows you to upload upward to 1TB of your own songs on its servers for free. It then lets you stream that music to up to five devices via a spider web interface and mobile apps, and you can download songs to your phone for offline listening. In contrast to the other services presented hither, Media Leap nonetheless feels pretty rough around the edges when information technology comes to the interface, but streaming itself worked without problems for me. Be enlightened that a lot of features y'all unremarkably accept for granted are but slated for later, every bit a spokesperson told usa. The team is working on a proper queue, Chromecast support, an equalizer, boosted file formats such as m4a and aac (only mp3, ogg, and flac are supported right now), 1-click anthology and creative person downloads, mass metadata editing, duplicate song checking, and a light fashion.

When you sign up, the service will enquire y'all to add together your home accost and phone number, but you don't have to fill up out these details — you only need to enter your name, e-mail, and password and continue setup. If you lot need more than 1TB of storage, you can sign up for a $5 monthly program — that'southward when you do need to enter more than of your personal data. In the future, the visitor will "most probable" add ads for costless users, so you might have to pay the subscription fee in the long term if you want to avoid that.

Deezer

Deezer isn't our become-to solution as it just lets you lot upload a maximum of ii,000 MP3 files. That limit means it's simply suitable for people who desire to augment the service'south 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 testify up in an extra section in the desktop app, hidden away nether Favorites in the sidebar -> More than -> My MP3s(which is as well where yous upload files). In the Android app, you'll only discover your uploaded titles nether Favoritesin the bottom bar ->Playlists -> My MP3s.Deezer tin can be set as the default audio provider on Google Home and Nest devices, the simply service in this list to support information technology other than YouTube Music — which is our main reason for including information technology in this roundup.

Y'all need to pay for the /month premium subscription to access the online locker, which will likewise requite you lot admission to millions of songs without ad interruptions.

Cloud-hosted digital lockers

Some people might not exist comfortable with uploading their music to an unknown online location and might merely desire a meliorate experience when they listen to music added to their existing cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or their own server. That's where the following services come in.

Astiga

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

The bones functionality is gratuitous, but if yous often add music to your cloud library, you might want to pay for the $iv/month or $24/yr premium subscription. It allows you to sync automatically or as often every bit you want to instead of only in one case all iii days. Astiga is officially available on Android and the web, but there are third-party and experimental apps for other platforms. Y'all tin read more about it and sign up here.

CloudBeats

Similar 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 gratis, but if you desire to download files to your telephone through the app or ship music to a Chromecast target, y'all demand to pay a ane-time fee of $6.99.

In contrast to the other options listed here, CloudBeats is only available on Android and iOS. You'll need to use another player on your desktop to listen to your songs in that location, so you might meet 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 tin rummage through the library by album, artist, playlists, genres, songs, or playlists. Yous also get access to online radios. If y'all don't like the default light theme, y'all can change it, and there are quite a few more than options in settings if yous don't like some blueprint decisions or the default playback behavior.

A $7.99 in-app purchase gives you lot more features like a 10-band equalizer, loudness normalization, gapless playback, Chromecast and AirPlay support, and an ad-complimentary radio experience. There'southward no iOS app — the CloudPlayer Android app is the only way to go.

Muzecast

Muzecast is another solution when you want to access your own files in the deject, and information technology'southward very much similar to the others listed hither. You can stream content from your computer, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The player supports the usual DRM-free file types. Lossless streaming of up to 24/192 KHz is available, songs are cached on your Android device, it has a congenital-in equalizer, and playlists can be synchronized across Android phones and even other apps that support M3U and WPL. Muzecast is as well available on Android Auto, Wear OS, and Android Tv set. It works with Chromecast.

I personally dislike the design, but some people might bask its out-of-the-box retro look. There'south a costless, ad-supported version of Muzecast and a $seven.99 advertizing-free variant. The Android Tv set app costs $4.77.

Self-hosted digital lockers

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

Plex

You've probably already heard of the home entertainment manager Plex that organizes media stored on your calculator or server — deject services aren't supported (anymore). It wants to be a one-finish solution for all of your media files similar music, films, Tv set shows, pictures, and so on. It offers beautiful clients for about all of your devices.

Plex recently launched a standalone music thespian chosen Plexamp. Information technology's among 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, but you can also exam the regular free Plex app before committing.

Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a completely free and open up-source alternative to Plex, built on the now proprietary Emby media server. Its Android app isn't as pretty as Plexamp, but information technology admittedly doesn't accept to hide its face, either. You can install the host software on your figurer or a server, and one time you've got everything indexed, you lot'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, most recently, an Android Car interface.

Jellyfin doesn't have native support for cloud storage services, simply at that place are solutions if you really want to. To get started, y'all demand to install the server application and the Android app.

Personally, I don't think any of these services nails music storage besides every bit Play Music did — Google's service just had the all-time integration between your uploaded files and the streaming itemize. The solutions listed here are either only really expert as streaming services or every bit storage solutions for music yous already own. Unfortunately, there'south no turning back at present that Play Music is discontinued, and then you lot'll accept to settle for one of these. Of class, you tin can also manually move your music to your phone and apply a thespian like Phonograph.

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

Added more than services

Added Media Leap.

Thanks: DonPorazzo, ikeofkc, Oleg Vorkunov

Near The Author

Manuel Vonau (1639 Manufactures Published)

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

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