In general, there are three possible locations where you would typically store your music:
- On the device that plays the music
- On a home server
- On the internet
On the device that plays the music
Traditionally, music is stored on the device that plays the music. That is, music for your iPod is stored on your iPod, and music you want to play on your computer is stored on your computer. The advantage is that this configuration is simple, and that you always have your music ‘with you’.
However, if you want to play your music collection on more than one device (for instance, two computers), storing and maintaining this collection on all those devices become a tedious process. This calls for a more distributed model: music is stored in one location, and the devices stream the music from that location.
On a home server
A typical setup would be that your music collection is stored on a home server, and that the device your want to play your music from acts as a client. There are servers on the market that provide music streaming out of the box, which also provide storage space for your music. An alternative is a device that is mainly geared towards storage (such as a NAS – Network-Attached Storage), and which also provides some server functionality.
On the internet
The latest trend is towards having a music collection ‘somewhere’ on the internet, and that the music is streamed over the internet to the device your play your music from. Spotify and Grooveshark are good examples.
For more on which device you can use depending on where your music is stored, read this article.
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