Google Music’s Free Scan and Match

Google Music, a useful service that no one’s using, has just made it easier to get started with a new scan and match feature for storing your music online. After hitting Europe last month, it’s available now to U.S. users as well.

Just like Apple’s iTunes Match and Amazon’s scan and match service, Google Music now compares your local music library with its own database of songs. When it finds a match, Google places its copy of that song in your online library, then it uploads any remaining songs that it can’t match. A lightweight piece of software called Music Manager handles all the syncing.

Once your songs are stored in Google Music, they’re available for streaming at 320 kbps through play.google.com/music, and through the Google Play Music app for Android. Unofficial apps are also available for iOS (I’m partial to gMusic) and Windows Phone (try Gooroovster).

The big difference between Google and its competitors is that Google doesn’t charge for the service, so you can scan and store up to 20,000 songs online without paying yearly dues...Continue reading....