Apple Music is a popular music streaming service developed by Apple. It allows users to stream over 90 million songs on demand, as well as listen to radio stations, watch music videos, and more. A common question about Apple Music is whether you can actually purchase and download songs like you can on other services like iTunes. The short answer is yes, you can buy and download music from Apple Music. However, it works a bit differently compared to other services.
Purchasing Music on Apple Music
When you find a song you want to buy on Apple Music, you can purchase it by going to the song page and selecting the price button. This will allow you to buy the song outright. Once purchased, the song will be added to your Apple Music library and available for you to download and listen to even when you don’t have an internet connection.
Some key things to know about purchasing music on Apple Music:
- You are buying the actual song file, not just access to stream it.
- Purchased songs do not count against cloud storage limits.
- Songs are usually $1.29 each for individual tracks.
- Once purchased, songs stay in your library forever.
Overall, the process of buying music on Apple Music is very similar to purchasing on iTunes. You own the music and can listen offline and download. The main difference is the music appears in your Apple Music library rather than your iTunes library after purchase.
Downloading Purchased Music
Once you purchase a song on Apple Music, downloading it to listen offline is easy. Here are the steps:
- Go to the Library tab in the Apple Music app.
- Scroll down and select “Songs” to see all your purchased music.
- Tap the download icon (down arrow) next to any song to download it.
- Downloaded songs will show “Downloaded” underneath their title.
- You can now listen to the song without an internet connection.
Apple Music downloads purchased songs in the 256 kbps AAC format. This results in high quality audio files for offline listening.
The Apple Music app for Android, Windows, and other platforms has similar download functionality. Simply find the song in your library and select the download option. Downloads are seamless across devices thanks to Apple’s iCloud Music Library feature.
Listening to Downloaded Music
Once you’ve downloaded music from Apple Music, listening offline is simple. Here are some ways to access and play your downloads:
- On an iPhone, go to the Library tab and select “Downloads” to see only downloaded music.
- On an Android device, find and select “Downloads” in the Library menu.
- On a Mac or PC, open iTunes and select “Downloads” in the Library section.
- Use the Search function to find specific downloaded songs.
- Play downloaded songs just like any other song in your Apple Music library.
- Downloaded songs have a download icon next to them in playlists and search results.
Your downloads will stay in your library as long as you remain an Apple Music subscriber. If your subscription lapses, you’ll lose access to stream songs in your library but will keep all your purchased downloads.
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Downloaded Apple Music songs can be listened to offline on your iPhone, Android, or other devices.
Sharing Downloaded Music
You can also share songs you’ve downloaded from Apple Music with friends and family. Options include:
- Gift a purchased song to someone else through the Apple Music app.
- Share a downloaded song file via airdrop from your iPhone.
- Text, email, or share a song file through apps like WhatsApp.
- Play a downloaded song out loud for others to hear.
- Transfer song files to another device using the Finder on a Mac.
- Share playlists containing downloaded songs.
Do keep in mind that purchased Apple Music songs contain DRM copy protection. This prevents the files from being widely shared and distributed illegally. But you have plenty of options for sharing downloads in a personal manner.
Disadvantages of Downloaded Apple Music
While having the ability to buy and download songs from Apple Music is useful, there are a few drawbacks:
- DRM makes downloaded songs less flexible for sharing.
- You can only download on up to 5 devices.
- Downloading eats up storage space on your devices.
- Need an active Apple Music membership to re-download.
- Sound quality limited to 256 kbps AAC.
- No way to export songs outside Apple ecosystem.
For most people, being able to buy and download music for offline listening is a useful Apple Music feature. But power users may still prefer more flexible options.
Do I Need to Keep Paying for Apple Music to Listen to Downloads?
One common question about downloaded Apple Music songs is whether you need an active subscription to keep listening to them.
The answer is:
- Yes, you need an active Apple Music subscription to stream downloads from the cloud.
- No, you don’t need a subscription to listen to actual downloaded song files.
Basically, if you download a song on Apple Music and then cancel your subscription, you can no longer stream that song from the cloud. However, if the song file is saved on your device already, you can still listen to it directly just like any other MP3 file. You just lose access to any cloud-stored music.
So paying for Apple Music is not necessary for listening to songs you’ve already downloaded. But you’ll want to keep the subscription to maintain full access to your library.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key points to remember about buying and downloading music through Apple Music:
- You purchase full song files, not just streaming rights.
- Downloaded songs are DRM-protected but can be shared in limited ways.
- Downloads are high quality 256 kbps AAC format.
- You can listen offline as long as files are downloaded.
- Keep paying for Apple Music to maintain cloud access.
- Great for building a permanent music library.
Conclusion
Apple Music offers users the ability to purchase songs to own permanently rather than just stream. Downloaded Apple Music songs can be listened to offline across devices. While not as flexible as downloads from other stores due to DRM, it’s a useful feature that lets you build a music library. Overall, buying and downloading music is a nice bonus of an Apple Music subscription for offline listening.