Apple Thoughts: The Cloud is Crowded with Music Choices

"When Google and Amazon launched their cloud music services, they did so without signing deals with the four major music labels. Apple will not be following suit, and according to music industry insiders, having all the contracts signed is what's going to let Cupertino kick the competition's teeth in."

I haven't tried Google but I sure like what Amazon.com has done with their music services. Both basically let you store your purchased music in "the cloud" and access it from your device. For Amazon.com, the first 5GB is free and you can buy additional storage at roughly $1.00 USD per GB storage per year. Apple is rumored to offer streaming of music thus they will need the agreements with the labels, that is if the rumors are true. Which brings up one potential problem with Google, since Google transcodes some of the music it creates a new digital copy, thus requiring a licensing agreement. I would think if you were just buying an MP3 and storing where you bought it there would be no problem.

I still use a combination of Amazon.com and iTunes to purchase since I go for the deals, but my main storage is iTunes. With Google joining Amazon.com in the cloud services, it certainly is giving plenty of options and puts a little pressure on Apple to get moving with their rumored service doesn't it? What are your thoughts, does Apple have the upper hand if they get the agreements? Which services appeal to you or which ones are you using now?