Streaming is not only convenient for having access to virtually ALL music at a flat rate, but also nice for anyone with a large library but limited phone storage or just to keep your music library in sync between devices.
So you want to quit streaming, start buying music on Bandcamp, Beatport etc., but still need the advantage of keeping your music library synced and files on demand? There are multiple fun solutions to this problem. Here’s a quick rundown of the easy and fancy ones!
Cloud Streaming (Easy)
Dump music files (mp3, flac, etc.) in your OneDrive/Dropbox/gDrive and use an app to stream it!
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Super easy to do | Playlist sync depends on the app |
| App switching possible, as long as cloud and media format are supported. You may need to export and reimport playlists | No transcoding: you need lots of mobile data for lossless |
App Recommendations
- Symfonium (Android)
- flexible storage support (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, WebDAV (as used in Nexcloud, OwnCloud, Seafile and others), Samba/SMB)
- great support for audio books
- Doubletwist CloudPlayer (Android)
- good UX, but only supports OneDrive, gDrive and Dropbox
- Flacbox (iOS)
- I use it for music, since it plays basically any format
- Wide support for cloud providers
- CloudBeats (iOS)
- I like it for audio books
Media Servers (Fancy)
Self hosting a Media Server like Plex, Jellyfin or Emby is great. Plex in particular has a superb music app (Plexamp) and an avid community. Thanks to this community, there is a script to sync your Bandcamp purchases with the python module „bandcampsync“. Plexamp also allows server side transcoding (so you can keep your library lossless and select a low quality stream on mobile data). Bonus: you get the same experience for your other media.
Another good choice are music centered media servers like Navidrome. It has the quirks of open source projects, meaning app quality is all over the place. Other than that, its great! And if a closed project like plex is not your jam, you probably know enough IT-foo to not have any problems.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Transcoding (Plexamp) | Not super easy |
| Extensible | |
| Easily sync your playlists thanks to Plex API |
App recommendations
- Plexamp (iOS, Android; Linux, macOS, Windows)
- can be used to cast to the plex app on apple tv
- Symfonium (Android)
- supports plex, emby, jellyfin, Funkwhale, Navidrome and Subsonic
- Amperify (iOS)
- supports Funkwhale, Navidrome and Subsonic
- SubSwift (tvOS)
- supports Funkwhale, Navidrome and Subsonic
Service recommendations
- platforms for selfhosting
- managed hosting providers for media servers
- Ultra.cc (one-click install for plex, navidrome and more)
- Cloudboxes (one-click install for plex, navidrome and more)
- Soundizz or TuneMyMusic
- playlist sync/transfer
If you prefer alternative acquisition over buying music, you can automate downloads with applications like radarr or sonarr. Remember to support the artists financially!
Cloud Folder Sync
Not steaming, but may be an option if you just want to keep things in sync between devices. Just dump mp3 into your cloud and sync it to local storage. Use any music app that plays local files. Another solution is iTunes on a PC with an iTunes sync app or apple music on an iPhone.
As far as I know, this is only easy on Android. The best iOS solution seems iTunes Match. Note that an Apple Music Subscription includes match.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| needs only data for periodic sync | Depending on the size of your library, you want a phone with LOTS of storage |
| Playlist sync depends on the app |
App recommendations
- Symfonium (Android)
- great support for audio books
- DoubleTwist Player (Android)
- DoubleTwist iTunes Sync (Android)
- FolderSync (Android, Windows, macOS, linux)
- Apple Music (iOS)