[All Platforms] Cloud Files

[noocyte]

Today we have 'Local files' that allow us to include, well, local files in our playlists etc. And this works well on my local machine. But as I have a home machine, work machine, my phone and my wife's phone these files are not available across them all. So I would love to see a 'Cloud files' feature. 

Cloud files would allow me to upload/sync my local music online (either to Spotifys own servers or using a 'hook' to Apple/Google/others) and then those files would be equaled to music provided by Spotify.

I would clearly pay extra for this option (30 NOK pr. month?). 

[krikelin]

You can use Dropbox (http://www.dropbox.com/) and put your MP3 in the dropbox directory and then set all your instances of Spotify installations to sync to this folder at all your locations and you'll have a 'cloud' feature.

Thanks to @Afront for posting this brilliant Idea!

http://pansentient.com/2011/11/how-to-hear-your-local-music-anywhere-with-spotify-and-dropbox/

[bradavon]

I can't see this happening. It would be a legal nightmare to allow MP3s files to be stored online and Spotify probably haven't got the cash in order to do it. Amazon got in trouble for providing a music locker.  I doubt Spottify would risk it, especially when it's not their business model.

You must have a lot of stuff not in Spotify. Have you considered using Google Music (Android) or iCloud (iTunes)? Both sync MP3s rather well. iCloud works on Desktops too.

Basically you'll need to look to using another service to sync your MP3s.

[dmb1]

sync to drop box?

[baespey]

This would be a tremendous idea if it were to go into effect. LIke the original poster said, we have Library (Spotify's music) and Local (stored locally like iTunes and Windows Media Player). But what if we have Dropbox or Google Drive support? That way all those local files that can't be played on say, a work computer, can now play through the cloud as if they're playing locally. This would really simplify things and it would contribute to technology's overall goal of a complete OS in the cloud.

The problem with having, say, Dropbox on your work computer and playing locally is you would have to add those files in manually. Unless, somehow, you can point Spotify to the same location. I'm on my work computer now and so are my music files, but it's referecing them as my home computer music files. It still says I can't play them.

[user-removed]

I love this idea!

[leomavin]

Well I don't see why spotify isn't already offering a cloud storage service of its own. Itunes match is already uploading and streaming music that they don't have in their library. Spotify should do the same become the one stop shop for all the music you can get your hands on. 

[mtc2000]

Since almost every cloud storage service (dropbox, google drive, box, AWS, etc) provides full API's it shouldn't be especially difficult to integrate these services with spotify. I believe this is going to be an essential point of survival in the near future as larger competitors (Microsoft / XBOX music) have already announced their intention of allowing users to upload their own songs to their cloud based music services.

Integration with third parties is probably the most economical way of competing since users are already paying for (or have obtained) these services themselves and therefore there is no additional cost to spotify. Whitelabeling your own "cloud storage" solution (i.e. from AWS, etc) that is tightly integrated isn't a bad idea either, but you should still give people flexibility to use servcies there are already setup with.

[Schwiegand]

I have my music on the NAS server at home. I want to include this music to via network share for example. But the network is not available every time. So there must be a solution that the files are not removed from media library if the network share ist not available.

[oxguy3]

Yeah, if cloud services are too much to ask for, then it'd be great if all the Spotify apps had like an advanced option so that, instead of just scanning the LAN for computers with local files in Spotify, it could also scan user-defined IPs. This would also require that most users (i.e. anyone that doesn't have a dedicated IP for their computer) set up port forwarding for it to work, so it's not ideal, but it's a thought. 😛

[uncelestial]

The Dropbox solution is entirely insufficient. I don't have enough room to store my entire non-Spotify music library on every device that I'd like to be able to listen to. This feature would transform Spotify from a "nice music discovery app" into The Single Truth in my life that I use for all of my listening. If they don't add it, then they better pray that the services with matching (Google Music, iTunes, Amazon) never add streaming, because that will pretty much render them irrelevant to me and many others.