MUMBAI: Stepping up on the competition with Apple Inc's iTunes, Amazon.com Inc has announced licensing agreements with various music publishers and distributors for its new scan-and-match digital music service. The new service will store the matching version of tracks found from the user’s computer on the cloud platform.

The company has signed a deal with top companies like Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The licenses will allow Amazon to create new versions of customers' digital music files.

In a statement Amazon said that it would match all songs purchased from its online store and store them for free. The service will also scan and match for free up to 250 music files ripped from physical CDs and those purchased from Apple's iTunes store and other sources.

“After 250 songs, Amazon will charge $24.99 a year to match and store up to 250,000 music files purchased or ripped from other sources. Once in the cloud, customers can listen to the songs through the Kindle Fire and through Amazon apps on devices including the iPhone, iPod Touch, Android tablets and smartphones and on PCs through Web browsers. The service would soon be available through Roku Internet TV boxes and the Sonos home music streaming system.”

The new launch has increased the competition with Apple who introduces a scan-and-match cloud storage offering for music titled iTunes Match in 2011. Last year, following Apple’s turf, Amazon also started selling its own tablet computer ‘Kindle Fire’, as a smaller and cheaper alternative to the iPad.