Full Musician Guide to Apple Music & iTunes

What is Apple Music?

In the world of music streaming, two names reign supreme: Apple Music and Spotify. While the latter has garnered a significant foothold — with more than 158 million subscribers worldwide, bountiful playlists, and other exclusives — Apple Music is still the most-subscribed-to service in the U.S. and is a towering force to be reckoned with. Home to over 50 million songs, curated playlists, social listening tools, Apple exclusives, and other awesome features, Apple Music shows no signs of stopping its exponential rise to digital music domination.

Apple singlehandedly turned the digital music marketplace on its head 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 the likes of Spotify, Tidal, and other services.

Apple Music combines subscription-based music streaming with global radio-like programming. It’s an all-you-can-eat service for subscribers: Pay a flat fee, and you unlock all of Apple Music’s extensive 60 million-song library.

The Music app, which is how you use the service, comes pre-installed on all new iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and Macs. You can also access Apple Music on the web at music.apple.com.

Isn’t Apple Music the same as the iTunes Store?

They are very tightly integrated and connected but there are important differences. The iTunes store sells permanent digital downloads, whereas Apple Music is a service that combines on-demand music streaming services with curated radio stations covering all the main genres. Apple Music’s costs vary by country (e.g. in the US the cost is $9.99 per month after a 3 month free-trial membership). Apple Music is available in over 100 countries, the iTunes Store in over 120.

But you don’t need to worry if you’re using 1710Media. We’ll put your music on every single major platform out there, so you’ll only have to upload your tracks with us once.

What makes Apple Music different from Spotify/Tidal/every other music subscription service?

Apple puts a lot of emphasis on Apple Music’s Beats 1 and its curated playlists.

Beats 1 is its radio offering, which features an around-the-clock worldwide live broadcast from DJs based across the world. It delivers a curated selection of songs, pop culture news, and interviews with artists.

Speaking of curation, Apple Music also offers up recommendations tailored to your tastes, looking at artists you like and serving up other artists and playlists for you to listen to. But instead of being built by algorithms, they are built by real people, according to Apple. You can find these in the For You section of the app—but first you’ll have to set it up by following the prompts to select genres and artists you like.

Apple Music’s library has over 60 million songs. Oh, and you can also watch music videos without ads, and check out Apple’s exclusive original content.

How To Get Your Music Video on iTunes & Apple Music

What devices can I use Apple Music on?

Apple Music is available for all iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch models that are running iOS 8.4 or later. It’s also available on the Mac and PC (via iTunes 12.2 or later, or through the Music app starting with macOS Catalina), Apple TV (running tvOS 9 and newer), and on Apple Watch. Android users can join in on the fun, too, if their device is running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or newer. You can access Apple Music via the following devices:

• iOS devices - Update to latest iOS version and launch the Music app

• Apple Watch - Update from a paired iPhone (iPhone 5 or later)

• Apple TV - Default Music app is available on new Apple TV box

• Mac - Update to and launch the latest version of iTunes

• PC - Update to and launch the latest version of iTunes

• HomePod - The smart speakersupports Apple Music out of the box.

• Android - Download the app on Google Play and launch the app

• Sonos - Download and launch the Sonos ap

What is Apple Music TV?

Apple Music TV is a music video channel. You access it from the Browse section of the Apple Music app or the Apple TV app.

Apple Music TV is different from Apple Music 1 (previously branded as Beats 1). Apple Music TV is a free, 24-hour, curated live stream of popular music videos, while Apple Music 1 is a 24/7 music radio station owned by Apple. Both are accessible through the Apple Music app.

Apple's music video channel premieres new videos at noon ET every Friday. It hosts original Apple Music content, from concerts to interviews.

What’s so special about Apple Music?

Apart from being the streaming service of one of the world’s biggest tech brands, Apple Music is a great service for artists, no matter what end of the musical spectrum they fall on.

Once your tracks are up on Apple Music you can claim your artist profile using your Apple ID and password.

Apple Music: Five Fast Facts

• Apple Music is the first Apple service to be available on android devices, meaning you reach a much bigger audience.

• It has a dedicated, round-the-clock radio program with Beats 1 Radio.

• Apple Music is now available in 113 countries worldwide.

• You can only get on Apple Music through an aggregator like 1710Media.

1710Media gets your music directly onto Apple Music so if you want to be part of this exciting new music service from Apple Get Started Today!

How did Apple Music start?

The genesis of Apple Music began with Apple’s purchase of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre’s company Beats Electronics — and with it Beats Music — in May 2014. Beats Music had launched as a streaming service earlier that year and had amassed a library of more than 20 million songs.

One year after its purchase of Beats, Apple merged Beats Music’s library with its own Internet radio service iTunes Radio. Apple announced its new music streaming service in early June 2015, and officially launched Apple Music at the end of that month.

Why should I distribute to Apple Music?

That last milestone is significant because unlike Spotify, Apple Music only offers paid subscriptions. Any paid subscription service will pay more for streams compared to a platform that offers a free streaming option.

In fact, Apple Music released a memo to artists, labels, and other rights holders in April of 2021 detailing its per-pay rate as one cent per stream.

That’s quite a bit higher than other platforms. It’s worth remembering, though, that payout rate is an average, not a flat rate. Actual payouts vary based on Apple Music’s total streaming earnings each pay period. However, it’s still an impressive move from a large digital platform to provide more visibility into the payment process.

The other major reason to get your music on Apple Music is simply a numbers game: since it’s pre-installed on all Apple devices, Apple Music has a built-in potential user base. There are 1.5 billion active iOS devices, that’s a lot of potential Apple Music users! Especially since Apple offers a free three-month trial to entice new users into subscribing. Don’t ignore that huge market of users. Get your music on Apple Music.

How do I send my music to Apple Music?

Just like getting your music on any other music streaming platform, you’ll need to use a music distributor to send your music to Apple Music. 1710Media does the job here. Along with dozens of other streaming platforms, we deliver your music to Apple Music, all for the same one-time fee.

DISTRIBUTE NOW

How do I claim my Apple Music artist profile?

Once your music is available on Apple Music, you can claim your artist profile on Apple Music through their feature called Apple Music for Artists. This is similar to verifying your artist page on Spotify. Both features allow you to customize your artist profile and view stats and data, including:

• Plays from on-demand streaming

• Average daily listeners

• Song purchases on iTunes

• Radio plays on Apple Music

• Shazams

• Insights and milestones for your music worldwide (for instance, “You passed 10,000 all-time plays in Nigeria”)

• Plays from playlists

• Most played songs

• Popular countries (with heat maps)

• Demographic and geographic information about your listeners (by song, album, playlist, etc.)

• And more

Claim your Apple Music for Artists profile

Can I make my music available to pre-save on Apple Music?

In another parallel to Spotify, Apple Music offers a feature similar to pre-saves. “Pre-adds” on Apple Music allow listeners to save an album that is available for pre-sale on iTunes to their Apple Music Library. On the sales start date, the album will automatically be available in the listener’s Apple Music Library.

How is Apple Music pre-add different from Spotify pre-save?

The only major difference between Spotify pre-saves and Apple Music pre-adds is that only albums are eligible for Apple Music pre-adds. Single-song releases cannot be opted in for Apple Music pre-add.

What is Apple Music Radio?

Earlier in this article we mentioned that iTunes Radio was merged into Beats Music to create Apple Music. So far we’ve only talked about the on-demand music streaming portion of Apple Music, but the radio side still exists and is a versatile way to discover new music.

Apple Music Radio is divided into two separate sections:

• Apple Music 1, which is a 24/7 radio station much like any traditional FM station. This radio station is further split into three stations:

• Apple Music 1: the flagship station of Apple Music 1 radio. This airs a mix of the latest songs from popular music genres like pop and rap.

• Apple Music Hits: this station airs hits from the previous three decades. Sure to cross appeal for Gen-Xers and Millennials alike.

• Apple Music Country: Apple Music Radio’s country station airs modern and classic country hits.

• Apple Music Radio: unlike Apple Music 1, Apple Music Radio stations are not curated by DJs and can represent a broad swatch of genres. These stations are classified into two categories:

• Semi-automated stations that are pre-created and organized by genre. So if you tuned into an ’80s metal station you’d expect to hear all the bangers from Maiden, Priest, Ozzy, etc.

• Custom stations are created by users. Now, these stations aren’t completely customizable track-by-track. Instead, Apple Music’s algorithm creates a station for you based on your taste and the song you’re currently listening to.

To create a custom station on Apple Music:

1. Start listening to a song you enjoy.

2. Click the ellipses (the three dots) button to the right of the song.

3. Select Create Station from the menu.

How do I add my lyrics on Apple Music?

You can add lyrics to all your songs on Apple Music, and it’s pretty simple to do. However, you should know that lyrics need to be added one song at a time. There’s no bulk upload function. Also, the syncing feature that matches the words with the vocals is only available at the discretion of Apple Music’s editorial team.

Here’s how to submit your song lyrics to Apple Music:

1. Go to this contact form

2. Fill out the contact and artist info (you will need an Apple ID)

3. From the “Topic” menu, select Submit Your Lyrics

4. Provide the link to the song on Apple Music (to find the URL to your song on desktop, go to the iTunes Store and search for your track. Click the arrow next to the price and choose Copy Link.)

5. Enter the lyric writers’ names, separated by a comma

6. Copy and paste your words into the Lyrics field

IMPORTANT: Make sure to format your lyrics according the requirements in Apple Music’s lyrics guidelines! For accuracy, do that BEFORE you copy and paste the text into the lyrics field.

Once you’ve submitted the lyrics, you’ll get a confirmation email to your Apple ID address. That email says it can take up to 10 days for the lyrics to be reviewed.

Apple Music Distribution Through 1710Media!

1710Media are one of Apple Music’s approved partners! We have distributed over 10,000 Songs on Apple Music.

Our incredible music distribution service gets your music onto all major platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

In addition, we offer press, blog, and music promotion. Hopefully, you’ll love what we can do for your career and will want to use some of these other amazing services!

Promotion And Branding

As a budding artist, it is really important to do some promotion. Once you have accessed your Apple Music For Artists account, you will have a clear idea of who you want to target.

Using this information, you can create a playlist. Artists have been known to make a living off royalties when tracks land in a popular playlist. Not only can we help with streaming promotion but also radio, TV and artist development.

How Long For My Music To Go Live on Apple Music?

1710Media can make you music available on Apple Music within 48 Hours. 1710Media allows you to upload your tracks and artwork to just one place, giving you a dashboard so you can monitor your downloads and streams across every online music platform.