Audio File Processing to Reduce Latencies in Play Start Times for Cloud Served Audio Files

A method for playing audio files on a device that obtains audio files from a cloud storage system, comprising:

• executing an application on the device that communicates over the Internet with music provider logic of a server, the music provider logic of a server accessing the cloud storage system on which audio files of a user are stored;
• synchronizing the application with the music provider logic to obtain audio snippet files for one or more of the audio files of the user;
• storing the audio snippet files in persistent storage of the device;
• detecting selection for play of a first audio file on the device, the first audio file being one of the audio files of the user, the detected selection causing a background download of at least a remaining part of the first audio file from the cloud storage system;
• accessing a first audio snippet file from the persistent storage of the device, the first audio snippet file corresponding to the selected first audio file;
• beginning play of the first audio file using the first audio snippet file stored in the persistent storage of the device;
• and
• transitioning play of the first audio file from the first audio snippet file to the remaining part of the first audio file that was background downloaded from the cloud storage system while play of the first audio file snippet file was in progress, wherein the method is executed by a processor.

Computer readable media having program instructions for managing audio files of a user to reduce latencies in play start times on local devices, the audio files being stored on cloud storage managed by a server, the computer readable media comprising:

• program instructions for processing a plurality of audio files associated with a user, the processing configured to create audio snippet files from each of the plurality of audio files, the audio snippet files representing a beginning part of each of the plurality of audio files;
• program instructions for transmitting the audio snippet files to a client device;
• program instructions for detecting a request from the client to begin playing a first audio file from the plurality of audio files of the user, the first audio file being stored on the cloud storage managed by the server;
• and
• program instructions for transmitting at least a remaining part of the first audio file to the client in response to the request, the remaining part having an identified transition start point, the transition start point being a time in the first audio file that corresponds to an end time of a first audio snippet file that corresponds to the first audio file, such that play of the first audio file at the client begins with the first audio snippet file while the transmitting of at least the remaining part of the first audio file occurs in a background download operation and play transitions to the remaining part of the first audio file after reaching the end time of the first audio snippet file.