The service, a collaboration with Catch Media which launches in Carphone Warehouse stores across the UK tomorrow (Tuesday), allows users to access their entire digital music collections remotely on their computers or mobile phones.
Using Catch Media's Play Anywhere technology, the system "fingerprints" the user's music collection - essentially making a note of what digital music they possess - and relates this to local partner MediaNet.
The user then installs the Music Anywhere app on his or her handset - it works on iPhones, BlackBerries and Android phones - allowing them to stream music remotely from MediaNet to their phone wherever they are in the world.
The app will also automatically sync with the user's home library and cache the most listened to songs on the device, meaning they can listen to these without an internet connection.
The partners have deals in place with all four major labels, as well as indie aggregators Merlin and The Orchard, giving them access to some 6m songs. However, for music in the user's collection that is not available digitally - The Beatles catalogue, for example, or the user's own home recordings - Music Anywhere will upload this to digital lockers, allowing users to listen to their entire digital collection on the go.
Music Anywhere is available bundled with the Samsung Europa smartphone when bought from The Carphone Warehouse. Consumers can also subscribe to the service for an annual fee of £29.99. In addition, Best Buy, which partners with Carphone Warehouse on Best Buy Europe, is set to offer Music Anywhere to its customers later in the year.
For labels, Catch Media's technology will give them access to marketing and consumption data: the service tracks song playback, giving labels data on how their artists are performing and where, without revealing any private user information.
Sony Music president of global digital business, US sales and corporate strategy, Thomas Hesse, has been quick to welcome the launch of the new service. "With the legitimate locker service model, music fans have a compelling and convenient new premium option for enjoying their personal music libraries regardless of whether they are at home, at the office, or on the go," Hesse says.
Cloud music has become one of the most important concepts in digital music over the past couple of years and has attracted the attention of some of the biggest technology companies in the world.
Google is widely expected to launch a cloud-based streaming music service early next year, while Apple bought streaming service LaLa in December last year, in what was considered by many observers to be its first move to take iTunes into the cloud. However, in the UK Carphone Warehouse has beaten both companies to the punch.
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