Windows 10’s Groove Music app may have lost its companion Groove Music Pass (go.pcworld.com/ grmp) service, but it still has a reason to live: so it can take care of your MP3 files.
Windows 10’s Groove Music app may have lost its companion Groove Music Pass (go.pcworld.com/ grmp) service, but it still has a reason to live: so it can take care of your MP3 files. As cloud services turn away from persistent music storage in favor of streaming, you may need it more than ever.
Microsoft officially killed its Groove Music Pass service as the ball dropped on December 31 (go.pcworld.com/ki11), shifting users over to Spotify. It’s a recognition that streaming services are the future, and that customers just don’t want to buy songs or albums.
But none of these services have everything. Bands like AC/DC and the Beatles held out for years. Artists negotiate exclusive deals on streaming services like Tidal. And for fan communities who pass around bootlegs of their favorite performances, like the Grateful Dead or Rush, chances are you’ll never, ever, find these performances on a licensed music service.
WHY MP3 COLLECTORS SHOULD WORRY
That’s why a generation of MP3 collectors is rightly worried about the fate of their precious live tracks and remixes. Spotify will play them, but only from local sources (more on that later). Amazon has quietly announced plans to shutter Amazon Music Storage (go. pcworld.com/amms), its service for uploading private MP3s to the cloud. (This won’t affect Amazon’s Music Unlimited Service, or any MP3s you’ve purchased through Amazon.)
This story is from the February 2018 edition of PCWorld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2018 edition of PCWorld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
If you get a phone call from LastPass, it's a scam
A new breed of sophisticated phishing scammers are targetting LastPass users with phone calls and emails.
Sick of ads in Windows? This ingenious program eradicates them all
This clever free tool removes all the ads that Microsoft keeps stuffing into Windows 10 and 11.
Controversial Windows 11 Start menu ads begin rolling out
Microsoft has pushed “Promoted” apps from the Store to the Windows 11 wide build just a few weeks after they started appearing to Insiders.
Ring of bogus web shops steals 850K credit card numbers
Fake online storefronts, which show up in great numbers in Google and other search engines, are becoming a big problem.
This free, ancient Windows app will watch your laptop battery
BatteryInfoView gives you the laptop battery information you didn’t know you wanted.
How to use your smartphone as a Windows 11 PC webcam
Windows 11 now allows the wireless connection of Android smartphones for use as a webcam.
How to digitize VHS tapes the cheap way
Preserve your old video tapes with an inexpensive capture card and free software.
Aomei Backupper Pro: All-in-one backup, now with online storage
Now with cloud storage, Backupper Professional is swinging with the backup big boys in terms of features.
SK Hynix Tube T31: Looks like a USB drive, performs like an SSD
SK Hynix’s Tube T31 looks like a standard thumb drive, but performs more like the external SSD it actually is.
Adios, cheap SSDs? WD and Seagate warn that PC storage prices are going up
If you’re considering a storage upgrade, act sooner rather than later.
