Will Free beat the Cloud?

Paul Resnikoff has an interesting editorial on the growing opportunity of cloud catalogs when it comes to music.

Imagine, the entire catalog of recorded music (ten million, fifteen million, twenty million-plus songs) resting safely in the cloud, accessible from any net-connected device for a modest fee. Just think Spotify from anywhere – the US, a well-connected iPhone, wherever – and the ability to shift from PC to phone to stereo to automobile without a second thought.

Now, picture this same collection in the palm of your hand, obtained for free and also completely portable. Perhaps in something that resembles the USB stick of today. Or, for a modern-day example, just think about the iPod classic, and its wildly-expanded storage capabilities within five or ten years.

Can these two coexist? Or does free win once again in the cloud?

I love this conversation.

My sister and brother-in-law love love love their satellite radio, which is a rudimentary example of mainstream cloud music.

For a small monthly fee, they have access to thousands of songs each month. In fact, their radio beeps when an artist they like is playing on another station so they know to switch over. It’s cool technology, although they can’t tell it not to play The Eagles on the classic rock stations, which still highly disappoints me.

But after years and years of paying into the satellite radio company, they won’t actually own any music. Me? I want to physically own my music.

But Resnikoff goes on to mention mp3s may soon become unimportant and the growing ease of streaming your own collection online or on handheld may take precedence over where the files are stored.

For example, this blog post is hosted *somewhere* by Media Temple, and although I can’t physically see where it’s stored, I can access it online at anytime from anywhere. And that’s what I’m paying them for.

Fun stuff. To be continued, I’m sure…