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How to Share Apple Music

The Apple Family Music Plan keeps the whole family singing along

By Sam Costello Sam Costello Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 9, 2020 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

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Expand Jump to a Section Step-by-Step: Share With a Family Plan Set Up Family Sharing on Android Share via Text Message, Email, or Social Media See What Your Friends Are Listening to When you hear a great song, you probably want to share it. Streaming services like Apple Music make sharing super simple. With just a few taps, your friends and family can enjoy the tunes you love. But how you share Apple Music depends on your goals. You can do more than just share a single song: You can share an Apple Music subscription with your family so you can all enjoy streaming tens of millions of songs. This is a great deal because up to six people can share a subscription for a monthly price that's not that much more expensive than an individual subscription. If you're not quite ready for that level of music-sharing commitment, you can also share single songs. This article shows you all the ways you can share the musical love.

How to Share Apple Music With a Family Plan

To share Apple Music with other members of your family (or close friends), follow these steps: Using an Apple Music Family Plan requires that you set up Apple's Family Sharing feature. This lets a group of people (usually a family, but it could be close friends, too) share content between their Apple IDs. This is how you add someone to your Apple Music plan. So, the first thing you need to do is set up Family Sharing and then invite people to your family group. (If you use Apple Music on Android, check out the instructions in the next section on setting up Family Sharing.) Once that's done, you need to sign up for Apple Music. This is pretty easy, but there are a number of different scenarios here:
If you haven't signed up for Apple Music before, choose a Family Plan during set up. Once you do that, each member of your Family Sharing family has Apple Music available to them. If the people you want to share your Family Plan with are already Apple Music subscribers, they have to end their individual subscriptions (they lose the music they've added to their libraries and need to add it again after joining your Family Plan). Then set up Family Sharing and sign up for an Apple Music Family Plan. If you have an individual Apple Music subscription, you have to change it to a Family Plan. Move on to the next step for instructions on how to do that. If you need to change an individual Apple Music subscription to a Family Plan, open the Music app on your iOS device (for instructions on doing this on a Mac or PC, check out these instructions from Apple) and tap For You. Tap your profile (the icon of a head in a circle in the top corner). Tap View Account. Tap View Apple ID and enter your Apple ID password if you're prompted to do so. Tap Subscriptions (if you have other subscriptions through your Apple ID, tap Apple Music). Tap Family and then confirm that choice to save it. Tap Back.

How to Set Up Family Sharing on Android

Family Sharing is built into the iOS, but it's not part of Android. As a result, the normal instructions for setting it up don't work. Android users actually set up Family Sharing from within the Apple Music app itself. Here's what you need to do: Launch the Apple Music app.Tap the three-line menu icon in the top corner.Tap your photo or name to access your settings.Tap Manage Membership and, if prompted, log into your Apple ID.Tap Family Setup (if you've already set up your Family and just need to add someone to Apple Music, tap Family in this step).Tap Continue.Add members to your Family Sharing by email or have them add their Apple ID and password directly on your Android device.

How to Share Apple Music via Text Message Email or Social Media

You may not quite be ready for the commitment involved in creating a digital family and sharing a subscription. If you just want to share your latest favorite song without any strings attached, you can do that, too. To share Apple Music one song or album at a time, follow these steps. These steps have been updated for iOS 13. Tap the Music app to open it. Find the song or album you want to share by browsing or searching. If you have an iPhone with a 3D Touch screen (the iPhone 6S and up), hard press the song or album and skip to step 5. This also works on the iPhone 11 and up. On devices without 3D Touch screens: To share a song, start playing it. To share an album, tap it. Tap the ... icon. In the menu that pops up, tap Share (in iOS 12, this is Share Song or Share Album). Tap the way you want to share the music. Your options include things like AirDrop, Messages, Email, or social media apps. Once you've made a selection, follow the steps for that kind of sharing. For instance, if you're emailing the song, address the email and add a subject line or message the way you normally would, then send. The one downside of sharing Apple Music? The people you share the music with also need to be Apple Music subscribers in order to listen to the songs you send them. They can use the standard 90-day free trial to listen to the songs now and then see whether they want to subscribe later.

See What Your Friends Are Listening to in Apple Music

Apple Music also lets you share information about what you're listening to (as opposed to sharing the songs themselves) with your friends. Since you can also see what they're listening to, it's a great way to discover new music. To do that, follow these steps: Open the Music app.Tap For You.Tap your profile (the icon of a head in a circle in the top corner).Tap See What Friends Are Listening To (in iOS 12, this is called Start Sharing with Friends).Tap Get Started.Enter your name and the Apple Music username you want people to use to follow you, then tap Continue to Find Contacts (iOS 12, tap Next). If you're running iOS 13, skip to step 9.Choose who can follow you by selecting either Everyone or People You Approve (this keeps your music listening a little more private). Then tap Next.Choose which playlists are shown in your profile by tapping the circle next to each one, then tap Next.Choose which friends who are also sharing their Apple Music listening you want to follow by tapping the Follow button next to each person, then tap Next. You can also invite friends to start sharing music by tapping Invite.Choose what updates you want to see–either from friends or from artists–by moving the sliders on or off.Save your preferences and get started sharing your music listening with friends by tapping Done. Now, when you use Apple Music, your friends see what you listen to and you see what they're enjoying. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Remove a Family Member From Family Sharing The 9 Best Free Music Streaming Apps for iOS and Android (2022) How to Use Apple Music on iPhone and iPad How to Set Up a YouTube Music Premium Family Plan How to See Your Stats and Top Artists on Apple Music (2022) 14 Best Places to Listen to Free Music Online How to Cancel Your Apple Music Subscription How to Turn Off Family Sharing for iTunes How to Stop Apple Music From Automatically Playing How to Download Music to Your Android Phone Apple Music vs. Spotify: Which One is Right for You? How to Set Up and Use Apple Family Sharing on iPhone & Mac How to Scan Songs on Spotify Using a Scan Code How to Use Siri to Play Music Can You Install iTunes on a Mac? How to See Lyrics on Apple Music Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies