Google Music: Can I delete my local music library?

August 30, 2011 3:03 PM

Google Music Question - Can I move my library onto a external hard drive and delete it from my computer without causing problems for my uploaded music?

I want to free up some hard drive space on my machine, and now that everything is available on the cloud I thought I would archive it on an external hard drive that isn't plugged in all that much. I'm worried Google with think I don't own the music anymore if that folder suddenly goes empty and take it down and then I'll have to go through the hassle of re-uploading everything (about 20,000 songs). Thank you.

posted by trbrts to technology (4 answers total)

Maybe try moving just a few albums to the external drive, then see what happens?
posted by jraenar at 3:42 PM on August 30, 2011

No, it doesn't matter what you do once you've uploaded music. It stays in your collection.

If you later point the uploader at the new location/drive once in a while, it should scan it and figure out what you haven't already uploaded and upload just those (it uses something called a hash which is like a signature to do a quick check to see if the file already exists on the server).

You don't have to keep the uploader running, you can delete the underlying store, etc.
posted by wildcrdj at 4:59 PM on August 30, 2011

2nding that you can remove it. My library is on a USB drive that is only infrequently connected to the comp. Google doesn't blink when the library folder is inaccessible.
posted by tdischino at 6:01 PM on August 30, 2011

You're fine. I pirated an ass-ton of music (admittedly most I owned on CD some time in the past but sold) and put it in Google music then deleted it. No issues.

Keep in mind that Google Music was meant primarily for Android devices so there would be no rule about keeping your old school non-cloud computer running to stream your stuff.
posted by Horselover Phattie at 7:03 PM on August 30, 2011