Amazon has been quiet through the latest string of cloud-based music announcements, but today they let loose news that Amazon Cloud Drive users will now get unlimited storage for their back catalogue of music as well as all Amazon MP3 purchases and downloads, meaning you can buy and buy and none of those purchases will count towards your storage quota.
Amazon hasn’t said or done much with Amazon Cloud Drive or Cloud Player since they launched the service. Shortly after, Google launched Google Music, then Apple unveiled iCloud, and now Spotify is coming to the US. Whether Amazon’s plan was in the works for months or this is a reaction isn’t clear. Still, people who use Amazon Cloud Drive – or who signed up for it but haven’t loaded it up yet because of storage concerns may reconsider using the service now.
Amazon Cloud Drive still offers 5GB of free storage to every Amazon customer. If you purchase a song from Amazon MP3 however, the song is automatically added to your Cloud Drive, and you won’t get docked for the space that song requires. It’s important to note that this unlimited storage for all of your music only comes with the purchase of a storage plan, with the lowest tier being 20GB for $20 per year. The goal is to make the combination of Amazon MP3, Amazon Cloud Drive, and Amazon Cloud Player even more competitive.
Plus, Amazon took the wraps off of their Cloud Player for Web, optimized for the iPad. Currently you can access Cloud Player on your Android phone or tablet, or your Mac or PC, but iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad have been off limits. Cloud Player for Web works with the iPad and allows you to stream music from your Cloud Drive right to your iPad.
Amazon still offers subscription plans for more storage if you want to upload your own music or files. Plans start from $20.00/month for 20GB and go up to $1,000/year for 1TB. Users who purchased a song from Amazon MP3 and got their storage bumped up to 20GB as part of the launch promotion will get to keep their space.
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