Whether you stream, download, rip or only listen to podcasts, there's a good chance you have anywhere from a handful to tens of thousands of MP3s and other songs cluttering a hard drive somewhere. If you're looking for a good way to back them up without spending a dime, Google Music just got a big boost to its free storage limit. It's allowing anyone to upload up to 50,000 songs for free, then stream or download them again later. The original limit was 20,000; either that was too little or not enough people signed up, and consequently Google has a bit of extra space on its servers. The price is right and there's little reason not to take advantage of the upgraded service, especially if you already have a Google account.
All you need to do is head to the Google Music page and sign up, then install the small program that uploads your songs to Google's servers. You don't have to pay a dime, though if you want to stream songs you don't own, you can try out the $10 monthly subscription, which also gives you ad-free access to music videos on YouTube. All your music will still be available on your hard drive, but now you'll be able to stream it to your phone or laptop, or download it all again if disaster strikes.
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