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Guide: what is Apple Music, and do I need it? | iOS 9

From iOS 8.4 onwards, the revamped Music app is home to Apple Music, an paid subscription service that allows unlimited access to a library of more than 30 millions songs. Songs can be streamed over Wi-Fi or a cellular connection, or saved to your iPhone’s library for offline listening.

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The cornerstone of Apple Music is discovery, and one of the major benefits of the service is that it can learn your music tastes and suggest albums or hand-curated playlists that you may be interested in. It also features an ever-changing showcase of new music and a live 24/7 worldwide radio station called Beats 1. Lastly, a feature called ‘Connect’ is a way for artists to share exclusive videos, demos and other media with fans through Apple Music.

To get started you’ll need to open Music and follow the prompt to set up membership. The service is a completely optional paid extra – you can still use the app without it – but to take advantage of everything Apple Music has to offer costs $9.99/month, or $14.99/month for a shared membership if you use Family Sharing on iOS.

Apple is also offering a three-month free trial if you want to test out the service before committing to a payment plan. See our next tip to find out how to take advantage of the trial without getting charged by mistake.

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