Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up Apple Music

Apple Inc launched its music streaming service on June 30, 2015, to enable its users to select the music they can stream and listen. With Apple Music, you can choose your favourite artists and generate an iTunes library of your greatest music collection for you to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

It also features an interactive 24/7 Beats live radio station it acquired in 2014 — a 100% music station capable of being broadcasted in over 100 countries. There are several benefits to taking a subscription for Apple Music: you can follow artists on Connect, listen to the Apple Music radio stations, download and store up to 100,000 songs in your iCloud Music library while enjoying listening to an unlimited number of songs.

As a member of Apple Music, your entire music library is stored in the iCloud ensuring that it doesn't take up any memory space on your device. Apple Music has been made available to subscribers from over 100 countries around the world to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to be immersed in the ‘Apple experience".

Apple has assured that with the release of iOS 8.4, its new music streaming service will be available in India for a fraction of the fee it charges in other Countries making it cheaper for Indians.

The monthly fee for subscribers in India (after a three-month free trial) is Rs 120 for individuals and Rs 190 for family plans (up to 6 members).

This is excellent when compared to the US which charges $10 (approximately Rs 640) for individuals and $15 (about Rs 958) for family accounts. This same Apple music streaming service in Singapore costs $7.50 for individuals and $11 for family plans. This means that Apple Music is 80% cheaper in India than in the US.

The low pricing model is an effective way for Apple Music to engage new users in India and get a foothold in Asia, especially as Spotify doesn't operate yet in India and other parts of Asia. However, India is a highly price sensitive market, and 'Rdio' is proving to be a formidable competition in India as it offers an individual subscription service of just Rs 120 monthly and a family pack subscription of Rs 180 monthly. It also incorporates a local payment option which makes subscribing for its services easier.

New subscribers get a free three-month trial membership and all that is required for you to access this service is to provide a valid payment option which will be billed only when your membership after the free trial window.

Step 1: There Are Six Payment Methods Available to Indian Subscribers:

Credit Card
Debit Card

Mobile Phone Billing

Mobile Phone Service Provider

iTunes & Apple Music Gift Card

"None" (To use store credit to pay for Apple Music membership)

The choice of payment method is not permanent, and you can easily alter your payment method after signup.

Step 2: To Join Apple Music on Your MAC, Follow the Following Steps:

- Open iTunes on your PC (You can download the latest version from the Apple Store)

- Click ‘Music' (You will find the music icon in the upper left corner of the app)

- Click ‘For You' icon at the top of iTunes - Select the Free Trial

- Select the Membership Type you are interested in

- Enter your Apple ID and password (you can create an account if you are a new user)

- Validate your billing information then add a valid payment option - Click ‘Join.'

- Agree to the Terms and Conditions - Generate your preferred iTunes Library.

Step 3: To Join Apple Music on Your IPod, IPhone or IPad Follow the Following Steps:

- Open the Music app

- Click ‘For You' icon at the top of iTunes - Select the Free Trial

- Select the Membership Type you are interested in

- Enter your Apple ID and password (you can create an account if you are a new user)

- Validate your billing information then add a valid payment option and

- Click ‘Join.' - Agree to the Terms and Conditions

- Generate your preferred iTunes Library.

With Apple Music, every subscriber should be able to easily choose the genre of music that he/she wants to listen. You will find the ‘For You' icon at the top left and tapping this tab will show you a screen filled with bright red bubbles listing the different genres of music.

You are expected to touch the genre you like (making the bubble grow) and double tap the genre you love (causing the bubble to grow even larger). However, if there is a genre you are not particularly fond of just tapping and holding it will make it disappear. You have to select at least three genres. The iOS 8.4 version has Indian genres such as Tamil music, Indian Pop, Bollywood, Sufi and other diverse genres with the Indian feel.

When you are done with the selection of your favourite musical genres, tapping ‘Next' at the top right of the screen will take you to the next screen.

This screen shows the names of artists in the genres you've selected. Here, again, it is the same principle - tap the artists you like, double tap the artists you love and hold the artists you don't like to make them disappear.

You can tap ‘More Artists' to get more names in your particular genre. When you are done with your selection tap ‘Done' to show you your playlist.

Remember that anytime after you join Apple Music you can choose different genres to listen to if dissatisfied with your current selections. So you're not stuck with whom/what you choose the first time. If you feel like changing your preferences, you always have that option handy.

The most exciting feature of Apple Music is that it is optimised to work for Android devices too and not just on Apple devices as most Apple services are.