Introduction of Apple iCloud could bury the competition

With inked deals with the top four major music record labels and the launch of its anticipated iCloud service, Google and Amazon's cloud music services will be keeping Apple in close observation. Along with Apple's announcement of iOS5 and Lion, the platforms are lined up nicely to support iCloud in its quest to overpower the competition via photos, music, and video streaming.

Competitors Google and Amazon launched the cloud music service ahead of Apple, but it was done without licensing or agreements with major record companies. Apple will have an advantage in that area, where they can legally stream music through Apple's locker directly to mobile devices. Users can have music streamed to their devices, by matching the song's ID within Apple's archives, without having to upload their library onto Apple's servers. Google and Amazon, on the other hand, will require users to manually upload and save your music onto their cloud. Experts weigh in their thoughts on Apple's entrance into the market.

If Apple wins, everybody else dies. We learned it with the iPad. We learned it with the iPod, said music industry analyst Bob Lefsetz.

Apple's dominant iTunes will be a vital part in the iCloud's entrance into the music streaming market. With Apple's brand and reach, other competitors like Pandora, Rhapsody, and Grooveshark appear to be in jeopardy. Adding to the competitor's woes, Apple has also been in talks with the film industry involving licensing agreements. The talks could likely lead to the addition of video and movies streaming through the iCloud.

The power of Apple's reach to their millions of customer via mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod could propel the iCloud services indefinitely. Though the cloud service is not entirely new, Apple's delivery of a new experience in accessing multimedia could be a game changer.