Apple single-handedly disrupted the digital music market when it launched the iTunes Store in 2003. Since then, the iTunes Store has evolved into Apple Music, a music streaming service to compete with Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music and others. services.
Whether you’re new to Apple Music or have been a subscriber since day one, there’s a lot to learn, especially if you’re considering switching from another service. Our guide to everything Apple Music can help set the record straight.
Update of 03/10/23: Our guide is updated to include details on Apple Music Classical.
What is Apple Music?
Apple Music combines subscription music streaming with global radio-like programming. It’s an all-you-can-eat service for subscribers: pay for one plan and you unlock Apple Music’s vast library of 90 million songs.
The Music app, which lets you use the service, comes pre-installed on all new iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and Macs. The app is also available for Android phones, on many smart TVs, streaming boxes, and even game consoles. You can also access Apple Music on the web at music.apple.com.
How is Apple Music different from the iTunes Store?
No way. The iTunes Store is all about media purchasesfunctioning as both a virtual disk store And an effective digital library for the music you personally own. On the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, you’ll find an iTunes Store app separate from the Music app.
On the Mac, the iTunes application disappeared; Apple has released new music, podcasts and TV apps. The iTunes Store is now a section of the Music app and you can still buy music there.
Starting with macOS Catalina, the iTunes Store is in the Music app on Mac.
Apple Music is all about streaming. You pay a bundle to unlock access to the entire Apple Music catalog, but you don’t actually do it possess
What makes Apple Music different from Spotify, Tidal, etc. ?
Although the premise and almost all of the music is the same, Apple puts a lot of emphasis on Apple Music radio stations and its curated playlists.
Apple Music 1 is its main radio offering, which features 24-hour global live streaming from DJs based in Los Angeles, New York and London. It features a curated selection of songs, pop culture news, and artist interviews. There’s also Apple Music Hits, with everyone’s favorite songs from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, and Apple Music Country, with country music.
Speaking of curating, Apple Music also offers recommendations tailored to your tastes, looking at artists you like and suggesting other artists and playlists to listen to. But instead of being built by algorithms, they’re built by real people, according to Apple. You can find these in the For You section of the app, but you’ll need to set it up first by following the prompts to select the genres and artists you like.
Apple Music’s library has over 100 million songs. Oh, and you can also watch ad-free music videos and experience Apple-exclusive original content.
Apple Music previously had an artist-based social networking feature called Connect. Artists were able to share special content with fans via Connect. For example, hip-hop artist Drake has used the service to post behind-the-scenes photos of his life, share snippets of new songs, and other content. But Apple discontinued the Connect service.
How much does Apple Music cost?
Apple Music costs $10.99/£10.99 per month, or $16.99/£16.99 per month for a family subscription for up to six people (which requires iCloud Family Sharing). College students can subscribe for $4.99 per month. A new Apple Music Voice plan, with limited features, has become available with iOS 15.2 and macOS 12.1 for $4.99 / £4.99.
There is no free version of Apple Music, but your new subscribers can sign up for a free tiral. If you cancel during the trial, you will not have another free trial opportunity. The free trial duration is one month for new subscribers, although there are longer offers in conjunction with the purchase of audio equipment or Apple hardware from specific retailers. See: How to get Apple Music for free
What devices can get Apple Music?
Apple Music is available for all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models running iOS 8.4 or later. It’s also available on Mac and PC (through iTunes 12.2 or later, or through the Music app from macOS Catalina), Apple TV (running tvOS 9 and later), and Apple Watch. Android users can also have fun if their device is running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or newer. Apple Music is available on several smart TVs and streaming boxes, as well as some game consoles. However, Apple Music Voice is only supported on Apple devices.
Which countries have access to Apple Music?
Apple Music is available in over 100 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Brazil, and India. See Apple’s full list for more information.
What is Apple Music Classic?
When Apple bought Primephonic in 2021, it promised its own classical music streaming service in 2022.
Apple Music Classical is this curated service, launched on March 28, 2023.
It is a separate application, with a separate library of over 5 million classical music focused tracks with quality up to 192kHz/24bit Hi-Res Lossless.
It has an interface similar to Apple Music, but is customized for the classic genre.
More importantly, Apple Music Classical requires an Apple Music subscription (and Apple Music Voice is not eligible). There is no separate subscription just for Apple Music Classical.
Apple Music 101: Quality, compatibility, offline listening, and more
How is the quality of the music? Apple Music streams songs at 256 kbps, the same bitrate as iTunes Match. That’s a bit of a drop from Spotify, which tops out at a bitrate of 320 kbps. Select Apple Music songs and albums are available with Apple Music Lossless at no additional cost. But the big advantage of Apple Music is the new Spatial Audio feature to select music. It’s not available for most of the 100 million songs in the catalog, but it makes a big difference for tracks where it’s available.
Can I save music to listen to offline? Yeah! Apple Music lets you save tracks for offline listening. You can save as many songs as you want, as long as your device has space for them.
But remember: you will not own these files and you will not be able to upload them elsewhere. You can’t burn them to disc, use them in separate video projects, or place them on other devices that aren’t linked to your Apple Music account. If you decide to cancel your Apple Music subscription, you will lose access to these songs.
The offline listening feature is a great option if you’re concerned about data overages or know you’ll be in an area without a good wireless connection.
Is there a limit to the number of songs you can have in a playlist? Not that we are aware! Add away.
How do you tell him which songs you don’t like? When listening to a playlist or radio station, you can skip any song you don’t like (except in Apple Music 1, which is live). While this should signal to Apple Music that you no longer want to hear that song or artist, sometimes it can be finicky. You can tap the three-dot menu (…) and choose “Suggest less like this” to show your displeasure.
Why are there things on the iTunes Store that aren’t on Apple Music? It all comes down to the deals Apple has made with various artists and record labels. Some artists aren’t interested in streaming services.
And the podcasts? Apple makes the podcast available through its Podcasts app on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.
Can I use Apple Music via the web? Yes, there is a web interface. In your web browser, go to music.apple.com. You can sign in to your account and access your playlists, songs and more. The web interface looks a lot like the Music app for Mac, and it’s a convenient way to access your music when you’re not using one of your own devices. Remember to log out if you are using a computer that others may be using.
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