Music in the Cloud

So now, you can store music in the “Cloud” thanks to Amazon (surprised they were first…me too).  It is linked to your Amazon account and they give you 5GB of free storage space.  You can purchase quadruple that for only $20 per year.  But, you have to be on a computer that has the Amazon MP3 Downloader to get music.  Learn more here.  Amazon had experienced some issues with the cloud service last week that caused slowdowns or even shutdowns of many websites; a big hurdle to overcome with such a new initiative.

Apple, in the meantime, has reportedly reached agreements with record labels for its ‘cloud’ streaming product…Amazon‘s product is not supported by record labels.  It is rumored to possibly be released in the next month or so.  Learn more here.

I am clearly not an expert on this subject, so I rely on you to help me understand…

What are your thoughts on cloud-storage for streaming music from Amazon and/or Apple…and where is Google?

Do you think Apple could eventually compete with Record Labels?