Audio storage in the cloud
We’ve recently upgraded our storage systems at Music Radio Creative to make the audio you buy from us even more secure. I often get enquires asking for a good storage solution from DJs wanting to backup all their mixes or radio stations who want to keep all their jingles in another place and not on just one computer at the radio station. All it takes is an error with that machine and all of your precious voice overs and jingles are gone forever.
Cloud Storage for Audio
With updates every day about cloud storage price drops there is no excuse not to keep your files up there in “the cloud”.
Here are the solutions we’re using at Music Radio Creative to store and backup large audio files.
Amazon S3
Amazon is reputedly the largest cloud service provider in the world. What I like about Amazon s3 (Simple Storage Service) is the ease of use. You can sign up with your regular Amazon account, start creating “buckets” (a fancy name for directories) right away and uploading all your audio files. The security is excellent as you’re able to protect your files from public access and, if you need to, it’s possible to create a temporary link for someone to access a file in your account. There’s also great software out there to help you manage the whole experience on your computer just by dragging and dropping files. I’m currently using CloudBerry Explorer although if you’re on a Mac you’ll need a different solution. I haven’t tried it but 3Hub looks like a promising app for managing Amazon S3 on the Mac.
Dropbox
This Silicon Valley startup is winning awards left, right and centre and it’s not difficult to see why. They’ve taken something complex (sharing files between multiple people who all have the permission to edit them) and made it simple. When you’ve signed up to Dropbox you’ll install a lightweight app and get a directory that you can drop your files into right away. I tend to use Dropbox for light weight, day to day activities and find it a great solution for sharing large audio files with other producers, voice over talent and clients. The free version offers plenty of storage but they also offer paid plans if you need more gigabytes. It’s interesting to note that Dropbox use Amazon S3 to store your files.
SoundCloud
This is a great front end solution for DJs, radio presenters and producers who want to showcase audio to the world. We have a pro account at SoundCloud and it’s worth the money for the extra storage, customer service and user stats (you can see where in the world people are listening to your audio). Audio is at the heart of Music Radio Creative and we get well over 10,000 unique listeners to our audio demos every single month. This involves an amount of bandwidth that most web hosts would not be happy to deal with so we’re happy to outsource all of our audio hosting requirements to SoundCloud. Based in Berlin they seem to have become the YouTube of audio. I’ve had dealings with their customer service department and on all occasions they’ve been friendly and helpful. It’s good to know that a core part of Music Radio Creative is in good hands.
Cloud Storage Options
There are plenty of cloud competitors. Perhaps you use a service worth mentioning? Let me know in the comments.
About Mike Russell