What is Apple Music and how does it work?

(Pocket-lint) - Apple Music is simply a subscription-based euphony streaming service, like Spotify, offering entree to implicit 90 cardinal songs.

It's packed with features, including offline listening for erstwhile you're not connected, and it combines each your euphony successful 1 spot - adjacent songs ripped from a CD. Apple Music besides offers up unrecorded vigor stations and integration with Siri truthful you tin power astir things with dependable commands.

This diagnostic offers everything you request to cognize astir Apple Music, including however overmuch it costs, what it offers, and however to usage it.

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What is Apple Music?

Apple Music launched successful 2015, pursuing Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics successful 2014 that included the now-discontinued Beats Music subscription service.

The Apple Music work not lone lets you watercourse on-demand immoderate way from the iTunes catalogue but besides entree each your euphony successful 1 spot connected each of your devices, whether purchased from iTunes, copied from a CD, oregon downloaded from the web.

The streaming work besides offers up recommendations tailored to your interests, net vigor (in the signifier of the Apple Music 1 (formerly Beats 1) vigor presumption among others), the quality to prevention euphony to your instrumentality for offline listening, expert-curated playlists, integration with the Siri adjunct connected iOS devices and features similar Lyrics view.

How overmuch does Apple Music cost?

Standalone

Apple Music is escaped for 3 months erstwhile you motion up to the escaped trial, aft which determination are 3 plans available, with a 4th program coming. An Individual program costs £9.99 oregon $9.99 a month. A Family plan, disposable for up to six people, costs for £14.99 oregon $14.99 a period - which is cheaper than Spotify's equivalent. The 3rd program is the University Student plan, which costs £4.99/$4.99 per month.

There is besides a Voice program coming that volition besides beryllium £4.99/$4.99 a month, whereby you tin entree Apple Music but lone done dependable and Siri connected your devices.

It's worthy noting determination is the Apple One bundle excessively - elaborate beneath - that volition prevention you wealth if you subscribe to aggregate Apple services.

• What is Apple Music Family Plan and what does it offer?

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Apple One bundle

Apple's services bundle for Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Fitness+ launched successful October 2020 and is called Apple One. It let you to subscribe to Apple Music done 1 of 3 antithetic Apple One bundle tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. Apple One's Individual and Family plans are disposable successful implicit 100 countries and regions, including successful the US and UK. The Premier program besides launched, but lone successful the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Here's however overmuch each Apple One tier costs:

• Individual: You get Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud retention for £14.95/$14.95 per month.
• Family: Up to six members of your household get Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud for £14.95/$19.95 per month.
• Premier: Includes each the different benefits, but ups the iCloud retention to 2TB per period and adds subscriptions to the News+ mag and paper work and Fitness+ work for £29.95/$29.95 per month.

First-time subscribers tin travel these steps to subscribe to Apple One:

1. Open the Settings app connected your iOS device.
2. Go to your name at the apical of Settings.
3. Select the Subscriptions menu.
4. Select Get Apple One.
5. Choose the Apple One tier you want.
6. Select Start Free trial.

If you already person an Apple subscription, similar to Apple Music, you'll person a pro-rated refund for immoderate days remaining connected your existing subscription(s).

For much details, check retired our usher connected Apple One.

Do you request a subscription?

If you don't person a paid subscription, Apple Music inactive lets you perceive to euphony you've purchased, ripped, oregon uploaded to your instrumentality but you won't get entree to each the features Apple Music offers, similar offline listening.

For those with iTunes Match, you'll beryllium capable to usage Apple Music to perceive to immoderate euphony you've uploaded to iCloud without an Apple Music subscription. You'll besides beryllium capable to perceive to Apple Music 1 and perceive to ad-supported Apple stations.

An Apple Music subscription offers each of the benefits of iTunes Match, on with entree to the full Apple Music catalogue. You'll get unlimited skips for Apple Music vigor stations, unlimited listening for the full Apple Music catalogue and entree to your purchased and ripped library.

You tin watercourse songs uploaded to iCloud, person curated recommendations, and you tin prevention songs to your room for offline listening.

Which devices enactment Apple Music?

You tin entree Apple Music via the pursuing devices:

• iOS devices - Update to latest iOS version and motorboat the Music app
• Apple Watch - Update from a paired iPhone (iPhone 5 oregon later)
• Apple TV - Default Music app is available connected caller Apple TV box
• Mac - Update to and launch the latest mentation of iTunes
• PC - Update to and launch the latest mentation of iTunes
• HomePod - The smart speakersupports Apple Music retired of the box.
• Android - Download the app connected Google Play and motorboat the app
• Sonos - Download and launch the Sonos app

Mac and PC users volition besides request to upgrade to the newest mentation of iTunes, which you tin bash from this Apple enactment page. Meanwhile, Android users tin spell to this enactment leafage to larn much astir however to get Apple Music connected their phones up and running.

Does Apple Music enactment connected Apple Watch?

You tin sync euphony from your Apple Music room to your Apple Watch - conscionable similar a playlist. All euphony is locally stored connected Apple Watch.

Where is Apple Music available?

Apple Music is disposable successful much than 100 countries, including the US and the UK. Check retired the afloat database here.

How bash you navigate Apple Music?

Once you download the Apple Music app and motion up, you volition spell done a music-tailoring process, which volition inquire you to prime euphony genres you similar and dislike, followed by artists you similar and dislike. After you've moved done the elemental process, you'll find yourself connected the Listen Now screen.

There is simply a paper barroom astatine the bottommost of the surface for navigation and to which conception of Apple Music you are in. There are 5 surface tabs successful the paper bar:

Listen Now: A curated enactment of euphony you should enjoy. It's based connected what you said you like, your listening habits, and the euphony you own. The archetypal clip you motorboat Apple Music, you'll beryllium capable to specify what genres and artists you like. From that point, you'll spot the surface loaded with suggestions similar genre-specific playlists, albums, impermanent playlists made by artists, etc. Recently Played besides appears here, arsenic good arsenic playlists based connected different playlists you've already listened to.

Browse: An editorially-curated enactment of euphony from crossed the service. This conception besides highlights blistery playlists, tracks and albums, apical songs, caller releases, etc. You tin presumption these caller curations by genre too. You'll besides find Artist Interviews, Daily Top 100 lists, City Charts and Music By Mood, among others.

Radio: A location for Apple Music 1, the 24/7, globally-broadcasted vigor station. You volition spot an enactment to perceive astatine the precise apical of the section. Below that, you'll spot Pandora-like stations arsenic good arsenic iTunes Radio's aged channels. There's besides your ain vigor presumption that pulls successful songs it thinks you'll bask based connected your listening habits.

Library: A spot for you to navigate done each of your music, whether it comes from iTunes, a CD, oregon each the streamable tunes successful Apple Music. Every clip you adhd a song, album, oregon playlist, it tin beryllium recovered astatine the apical ounder Playlists, Artists, Albums oregon Songs. This leafage is customisable.

Search: The Search tab allows you to hunt the full of the Apple Music catalogue and your library. You tin adjacent hunt by lyrics, typing conscionable a fewer words from a opus you similar and it volition find it for you. It volition besides amusement you what's trending successful this section.

How does Apple Music work?

There are respective features, controls, and options baked into Apple Music. Here country fewer cardinal ones worthy remembering:

Play music: Tap immoderate play fastener connected a playlist, oregon pat connected an idiosyncratic opus oregon album, to spot a miniplayer look astatine the bottommost of the screen. Tap connected the miniplayer to spot the Now Playing surface and assorted controls, including the quality to download a opus for offline listening, skip, play next, favourite oregon dislike, share, AirPlay, adhd to your library, commencement a station, oregon spot the lyrics. Swipe down to exit.

Use Siri: You tin inquire Siri to "play the apical songs from 2021", "play much songs similar this", "add the caller Drake medium to my library", "play each songs by Drake" (to perceive to each of Drake's music, adjacent if it's not successful your library), and "play my euphony by Drake" (to perceive Drake's songs that you person saved to your library). You tin besides inquire Siri to shuffle the songs successful an medium oregon playlist. There are besides a caller scope of playlists coming that tin beryllium controlled via Siri. For these, you could inquire Siri to program euphony for a meal party, for example.

Search: Tap the magnifying solid fastener successful the bottommost right-hand country to hunt genres, songs, albums, and artists. Search works crossed Apple Music and your ain music. If you hunt Drake, you volition spot apical results, songs, albums, playlists, artists, and stations related to Drake. To spot results from your ain euphony collection, conscionable pat the "Your Library" enactment astatine the top.

Build library: Search for an artist, specified arsenic Drake, past prime a song, and pat the "+" fastener to adhd an medium oregon playlist to your library, oregon pat the 3 dots adjacent to a opus and past "Add to Library". There's besides a "Download" enactment erstwhile you pat connected the 3 dots, allowing for offline listening. For albums, the "+" motion volition crook into a download motion erstwhile added.

Edit playlists: You tin adhd immoderate opus oregon medium to a playlist by tapping the three-dot (more options) fastener from the Now Playing surface and selecting Add to a Playlist. From there, you tin adhd to immoderate playlist oregon marque a caller one. Also, nether Playlists connected the Library screen, you'll spot options to benignant each your playlists and make caller ones. Just capable successful details and past adhd songs.

Share music: Tap the stock fastener connected immoderate opus oregon playlist successful the 3 dots paper to stock a nexus to Facebook oregon Twitter, nonstop successful Mail oregon Messages, oregon transcript the link.

Hear Apple Music 1: Go to the Radio tab and past pat connected the amusement connected aerial oregon immoderate of the featured shows. The vigor tab volition not lone amusement what's connected aerial close now, but you'll spot a docket of upcoming shows and DJs beneath too.

Listen offline: Apple Music lets you download copies of immoderate disposable songs, albums, oregon playlists you privation to your devices. It's adjuvant if you're going to beryllium retired of range. Just spell to a opus oregon album, past pat the three-dot fastener to spot much options, and prime the download fastener to download it to your instrumentality (and library). There's nary bounds to what you tin support offline oregon for however long. You tin besides pat the "+" to adhd a opus to your room and past pat it again to download it.

Your account: A illustration awesome tin beryllium recovered successful the apical close country of the Listen Now tab. Tap it to entree account-related settings, specified arsenic spot what your friends are listening to, upgrade your subscription, and negociate notifications.

What is Apple Music TV?

Apple Music TV is a euphony video channel. You entree it from the Browse conception of the Apple Music app oregon the Apple TV app.

Apple Music TV is antithetic from Apple Music 1 (previously branded arsenic Beats 1). Apple Music TV is simply a free, 24-hour, curated unrecorded watercourse of fashionable euphony videos, portion Apple Music 1 is simply a 24/7 euphony vigor presumption owned by Apple. Both are accessible done the Apple Music app.

Apple's euphony video transmission premieres caller videos astatine noon ET each Friday. It hosts archetypal Apple Music content, from concerts to interviews. For instance, Bruce Springsteen was 1 of the archetypal to look connected Apple Music TV to beforehand his upcoming album, Letter to You, via euphony videos, a unrecorded stream, and a Zane Lowe interview.

What are immoderate tips and tricks?

Check retired Pocket-lint's round-up of Apple Music tips and tricks worthy knowing.

Are determination immoderate alternatives?

The evident alternatives include: Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer and Tidal. Each of these services let you to not lone watercourse euphony but besides support listening erstwhile offline, though you'll request a paid subscription for entree to offline-listening arsenic good arsenic different premium features. You tin larn much astir each these services by checking retired the pursuing Pocket-lint round-ups:

• Spotify
• Tidal
• YouTube Music
• Amazon Music Unlimited

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 15 February 2016.