Cloud players e.g Amazon Cloud Player

[Don Petter]

Re. the Amazon cloud player - I've bought many CDs for other people over the years and it has also added these to my list! I am not impressed, it'll take ages to weed out all the things I bought for other people that I won't listen to.

Why do you need to weed them out? They are now a free bonus for you and, as I understand it, do not count towards any capacity limitation. You don't have to listen to them. (Though I can understand that for neatness of seeing what you have got you might want to tidy things up.)

[Parry1912]

Why do you need to weed them out? They are now a free bonus for you and, as I understand it, do not count towards any capacity limitation.

Not to mention any that I might subsequently have put on ebay!

[Alf-Prufrock]

I have heard that the download from the cloud is not of the highest quality, indeed frightfully bad in some cases. Can those who have used this facility confirm or deny this observation?

[Beef Oven]

I have heard that the download from the cloud is not of the highest quality, indeed frightfully bad in some cases. Can those who have used this facility confirm or deny this observation?

Deny.

[Hitch]

I've uploaded most of my music to Google Play (this is an automatic and painless but lengthy process) to ensure I have some kind of backup, though I have not yet tried to download any of the stored music. There is a noticeable reduction in audio quality when listening to music via Google Play's "Music Manager" mp3 player, which therefore is now gathering dust on my PC's desktop.

On a whim, I decided to try Spotify's free trial month option. What a revelation! It has been blissful to gather and compare different recordings of, for example, Bach's cello suites or listen to complete symphony cycles at the touch of a button. There is no lag (my compliments to the programmers) and the sound, after a tweak or two, is good; miraculously so on my smartphone. It won't surprise many of you to learn that the search function is clunky and that classical music is incorrectly tagged ("You've been listening to Beethoven - would you like to listen to Leonard Slatkin?", etc.). However, Spotify has been such fun that I may have to fork over a subscription fee at the end of the month.

[Dave2002]

Hitch

If you find you like comparing versions, you might also want to consider Napster, which currently is cheaper per month than Spotify. It has a surprisingly large range of music. Arguably the quality is not as good as Spotify - though I believe it has improved since it combined with Rhapsody a while back, and also some of the music exists in versions which may not be ultra hi-fi anyway. For example, try (you can use the trial version) accessing music conducted by Celibidache or Toscanini, or look for versions of Brahms Requiem or Bruckner symphonies. There is a lot of good stuff on Napster, and while there is considerable overlap of more common items with Spotify, there is a lot more besides.

Others round here also like Qobuz, which is based in France. I've not tried it myself, and it at first sight seems that it is a French only system. However, several board members have noted that they can gain access to it by sending the Qobuz people an email, and after that they can enable accounts even for those of us in the UK.

I have both Spotify and Napster, though maybe I feel I have a special need to have access to a very large base of music. It can be useful when trying to write programme notes, for example.

PS: I note you mention using your smartphone. Some systems, including Napster, have a higher charging rate for accessing their music via phone networks on smartphones etc. Over the standard broadband internet, Napster was £5.99 per month last time I looked and Spotify was about a tenner.

[cloughie]

I can access Cloud via the email sent by Amazon - is there a way of putting a shortcut on my laptop?

Probably like others on these boards I have had an interesting mix landed on my cloud as a result of a recent purchase.

[Dave2002]

I can access Cloud via the email sent by Amazon - is there a way of putting a shortcut on my laptop?

Probably like others on these boards I have had an interesting mix landed on my cloud as a result of a recent purchase.

Step 1: Get into Cloud Player. I think you'll find this gets you there - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/dmusic/mp3/player#albums though you may have a slightly different URL if you've not set anything up yet.

Step 2: Assuming you are in a browser such as Firefox or Chrome or Safari, point your mouse at the icon in the link in the URL address bar. Then drag the icon on to your desktop.

This works in Mac OS - and from previous experience I think it should also work with Windows.

This technique of putting icons on to your desktop is not only restricted to the Cloud Player - it should work with any URL.

The browser which will open will be your default browser, not necessarily the one which you used to save the URL on your desktop. You should also be able to put the shortcuts into a separate folder, if you don't want them on your desktop.

[Hitch]

Dave2002,

Thank you for your suggestions. I will investigate. I always use my smartphone's Spotify app via Wi-Fi and never via my 3G phone network. My phone contract specifies unlimited access to the internet so, fingers crossed, I won't get a nasty bill.

[mangerton]

I can access Cloud via the email sent by Amazon - is there a way of putting a shortcut on my laptop?

Probably like others on these boards I have had an interesting mix landed on my cloud as a result of a recent purchase.

Yes, they got in touch with me, and I have added apps to my ipad and android phone.

Talking of "interesting mix", I see they have put a Katharine Jenkins CD in my list of purchases. I have absolutely no recollection of buying this, and the CD is not on my shelves.

Would an action for defamation of character be appropriate?

[cloughie]

Step 1: Get into Cloud Player. I think you'll find this gets you there - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/dmusic/mp3/player#albums though you may have a slightly different URL if you've not set anything up yet.

Step 2: Assuming you are in a browser such as Firefox or Chrome or Safari, point your mouse at the icon in the link in the URL address bar. Then drag the icon on to your desktop.

This works in Mac OS - and from previous experience I think it should also work with Windows.

This technique of putting icons on to your desktop is not only restricted to the Cloud Player - it should work with any URL.

The browser which will open will be your default browser, not necessarily the one which you used to save the URL on your desktop. You should also be able to put the shortcuts into a separate folder, if you don't want them on your desktop.

Thanks Dave I guess I was just looking for a cloud to drag on.

[cloughie]

Yes, they got in touch with me, and I have added apps to my ipad and android phone.

Talking of "interesting mix", I see they have put a Katharine Jenkins CD in my list of purchases. I have absolutely no recollection of buying this, and the CD is not on my shelves.

Would an action for defamation of character be appropriate?

Yours or hers? Even if you were tempted to purchase KJ I guess Zoverstocks would be a better bet than Amazon direct!