Hi. Really you need to store the music in a location that isn't going to disappear.  The best solution would be to put it on a network drive connected to your router. Some routers have USB slots which might allow you to use it USB flash drive.

Or you could use a streaming service like Amazon Music or Tidal.

I couldn't see how the title of this thread quite fitted with the question. 

I wasn’t sure how else to describe it, since I have a laptop/phone with my music on it, separate from my hubby’s, and we both want to be able to play music regardless of who is home. Should I repost, and how would you recommend I describe it? or are you confident that this is my only/best answer?

I don’t have, and didn’t expect to need, a streaming account.  Paying for that or adding pieces isn’t really in the budget. I want to play the music I already own - much of which is created/recorded by family and friends. Other people’s playlists are nice, but I can’t practice my instrument without my lesson recordings. I assumed that I could play my own music anytime - either saved on the Sonos machine itself or playable from my own phone’s library. That seems like a reasonable expectation?

I will check for a USB slot. Thanks for your insight!

That NAS that John mentioned is the most common approach, the USB stick acting as an NAS is a relatively new development. 
 

The key is that the music is never stored by Sonos, so the location where the music is stored must always be present. If you had a desktop Mac/PC, storing it there would be an option. But a machine that frequently leaves the network for any reason will result with the situation you’re currently in. 

As Bruce says, you are perfectly entitled to play the music you own, but not if it's 200 miles away!

I wasn't suggesting that you should get a streaming account, just giving options.

Depending on your situation and how separate your music and your husband's music are, there are other ways you could organise this.

Does the reverse situation apply? Does your laptop go off with you,  leaving your husband in the same predicament? If your laptop is never or only rarely away then it would make more sense to store all the music there and point the Sonos Music Library at your laptop.

Thanks everyone!

We both take our laptops regularly, and don’t have a desktop. We thought that we would each be able to connect separately.

Never occurred to me that other family members and guests couldn’t use it when we weren’t physically present. Seems like this would be a commonly needed function... Did a lot of research in advance, but sadly didn’t anticipate this piece of the puzzle.

Good to have the answer, anyway.

Much appreciated! Jamie

Sonos is a networked multiroom system. The best place to store music is on the network..

But hang on, you said you couldn't play music stored on your phones. Do you have iPhones? If so just use Airplay. Your profile says you have Sonos Ones, which are Airplay compatible. 

They can use the Sonos system, just not the data stored on a machine that isn’t present. But as John suggested, all radio stations and streaming services would be present for use. 

THANK YOU! airplay works… didn’t know of it, and hubby is out of town which led to my desperation!

That's good news  Sonos is a very versatile system, offering lots of sources and various ways to play them

(Yes, I am a total Sonos fanboy.)