Music

Listen to songs from your iPad music library with the Music app. When you subscribe to Apple Music, you can stream from the Apple Music catalog, and you can access all your music on your devices signed in to the same Apple Account. You can also search for music, create a playlist, and build your library.

As a subscriber, you can select artists as favorites, view song lyrics, and more, and you can organize songs for a specific theme, mood, or occasion in a playlist.

Subscribe to Apple Music

To get the most from the Music app, subscribe to Apple Music, and choose from millions of songs to stream or download. Go to Settings > Apps > Music, then tap Join Apple Music. After you become an Apple Music subscriber, you can select artists as favorites (and receive notifications about them), view song lyrics, and more.

Find music

Use the Search feature to quickly find music. Tap Search in the sidebar to browse music by category or enter an artist, lyric, or other keyword in the field to find songs, albums, and playlists.

Create a playlist

Organize songs for a specific theme, mood, or occasion with a playlist. Tap the Show Sidebar button in the tab bar at the top of the screen, scroll to the bottom of the sidebar, then tap New Playlist. To add a song to the playlist, tap the More button next to a song, then tap Add to a Playlist.

Build your library

You can add music to your library in a variety of ways. For example, subscribe to Apple Music or buy your favorite albums from the iTunes Store. If you’re already using a Mac, go to Settings > Apps > Music, then tap Sync Library—your entire music library is then available on your iPad.

If you’d like to get more from Music, start here:

• Subscribe to Apple Music on iPad
• Search for music on iPad
• Create, edit, and delete music playlists on iPad
• Get music on iPad
• Get music in the iTunes Store on iPad
• Add music to iPad and listen offline

Enjoy music stored on iPad as well as music streamed over the internet. You can build a music library—your collection of songs and albums—in many ways, from subscribing to Apple Music to transferring music from other services or buying music.

With an Apple Music subscription, you can start listening to millions of songs right away, and everyone in your Family Sharing group can share a family subscription. After you subscribe, you can bring your music from other music services, or you can buy and download music from the iTunes Store.

Note: Services and features aren’t available in all countries or regions, and features may vary by region. Additional charges may apply when using a cellular connection.

Subscribe to Apple Music

When you subscribe to Apple Music, you can start listening to millions of songs from the Apple Music catalog right away. To access your music library on all your devices, turn on Sync Library (go to Settings > Apps > Music). Then, add and download songs so that you can play your favorites any time, even when you’re offline.

Quick tip: Purchasing an Apple Music family subscription lets everyone in your Family Sharing group share an Apple Music subscription.

Transfer existing music from other music services

After you subscribe, you can easily bring your music from other music services to Apple Music. Tap your profile icon in the lower-left corner of the sidebar, then tap Transfer Music from Other Services. Follow the onscreen instructions to transfer your existing library or playlists.

Buy music from the iTunes Store

Without an Apple Music subscription, you can still add your favorite songs or albums when you buy and download music from the iTunes Store. And if you’ve purchased items from the iTunes Store before, you can download them to as many as 10 authorized computers and devices.

Transfer music from your Mac or Windows device

Connect your Mac or Windows device to transfer and update music between your iPad and your device. To sync supported content, use Music (macOS 10.15 or later) or iTunes (macOS 10.14 or earlier and Windows devices).

When you purchase access to movies, TV shows, music, music videos, ebooks, audiobooks, or ringtones from Apple, you also have the option to permanently download these items to a compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC. Apple cannot revoke your downloaded content, and you can always access your downloaded content without an internet connection.

See also

• Play music on iPad
• Intro to playlists in Music on iPad

Playlists are custom compilations of songs and music videos, made to suit a specific mood or occasion, to select certain songs to share with others, or to organize your music library, so you might create a playlist to do the following:

• Suit a specific mood or occasion. For example, you could create a playlist for a dinner party, a wedding, or your morning workout.
• Select certain songs to share with others on your local network or to sync with your Mac or Windows device.
• Organize your music library.

A few other types of playlists become available when you subscribe to Apple Music:

• Favorite Songs playlist: See Mark items as favorites.
• Playlists created by any Apple Music contributor: See Add music and listen offline.
• Playlists created by other subscribers that you follow: See what your friends are listening to.
• Special playlists (like Replay): See Discover your most-played music of the year.
• Collaborative playlists: See Collaborate on a playlist and Join a collaborative playlist.

Changes you make to your music library (creating playlists or playlist folders, for example) are updated across all your devices when Sync Library is turned on (go to Settings > Apps > Music, then turn on Sync Library). If you’re not an Apple Music subscriber, the changes appear in your library the next time you sync with your computer.

Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Add this song to my Workout playlist” while playing a song or album. Learn how to use Siri.

See also

• Play music on iPad
• Adjust the sound quality in Music on iPad

As soon as you subscribe to Apple Music, you can add and download songs and videos from Apple Music to your music library. You can stream music you add to iPad when you have an internet connection.

To play music when you’re not connected to the internet, though, you need to download it first. Music you add is also added to your other devices, as long as you’re signed in to the same Apple Account with Sync Library turned on. You can also delete music from your library and manage your storage.

Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Add this to my library” while playing something. Learn how to use Siri.

Add music from Apple Music to your library

1. Start the Music app on your iPad.
2. Do any of the following:
   • Touch and hold a song, album, playlist, or video, then tap Add.
   • While viewing the contents of an album or playlist, tap the Add to Library button to add the album or playlist, or tap the More button next to a song, then tap Add to add that song.
   • On the Now Playing screen, tap the More button, then tap Add.

Music you add to your iPad is also added to other devices if you’re signed in to the same Apple Account and have Sync Library turned on (go to Settings > Apps > Music, then turn on Sync Library).

Download music from Apple Music to your iPad

Before you can download music from Apple Music to your library, you need to turn on Sync Library. Go to Settings > Apps > Music, then turn on Sync Library. Then follow these steps to download music.

1. Start the Music app on your iPad.
2. Do any of the following:
   • Download a song, album, or playlist: Touch and hold music you added to your library, then tap Download.

     After you add a playlist or album, you can also tap the Download button at the top of the screen.

   • Always download music: Open Settings, tap Apps, tap Music, and then turn on Automatic Downloads.

     Songs you add are automatically downloaded to iPad.

   • See download progress: Tap the Show Sidebar button, tap Downloaded, and tap Downloading.

Note: Music that’s available in Dolby Atmos shows the Dolby icon next to it, and you can download it in Dolby Atmos or in stereo. To always get Dolby Atmos when it’s available, go to Settings > Apps > Music and turn on Download in Dolby Atmos. Read our guide, Play music in Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos on iPad.

Delete music from your library

1. Start the Music app on your iPad.
2. Touch and hold the song, album, playlist, or music video. Tap Delete from Library.

   Note: Deleting a song from your library doesn’t delete it from your playlists. To change this behavior, go to the Settings app, tap Apps, tap Music, then turn on Add & Delete Playlist Songs.

Manage storage space

You can manage storage space in any of these ways:

• Remove music and videos stored on iPad: Go to the Music app on your iPad, touch and hold an item that you downloaded, then tap Remove Download.

  The item is removed from iPad, but not from your music library on your other devices.

• Free up music storage: If iPad is low on storage space, you can automatically remove downloaded music that you haven’t played in a while. Go to Settings > Apps > Music > Optimize Storage.
• Remove all songs or certain artists from iPad: Go to Settings > Apps > Music > Downloaded Music, tap Edit, then tap the Delete button next to All Songs or the artists whose music you want to delete.
• Remove all Apple Music songs from iPad: Go to Settings > Apps > Music, then turn off Sync Library.

  The songs are removed from iPad but remain in your music library on your other devices. Music you purchased or synced also remains.

Choose cellular data options for Music

If you have a Wi-Fi + Cellular model of iPad, you can choose cellular data options.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps and tap Music.
3. Turn on Cellular Data. Do any of the following:
   • Turn Download over Cellular on or off.
   • Tap Audio Quality, turn on Lossless Audio, then tap Cellular Streaming to choose a setting (None, High Efficiency, High Quality, Lossless, or High-Resolution Lossless).

     High Quality, Lossless, and High-Resolution Lossless use significantly more cellular data than High Efficiency, which may incur additional charges from your cellular carrier. Songs may also take longer to start playing.

When you purchase access to movies, TV shows, music, music videos, ebooks, audiobooks, or ringtones from Apple, you also have the option to permanently download these items to a compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC. Apple cannot revoke your downloaded content, and you can always access your downloaded content without an internet connection.

See also

• Search for music on iPad
• Transfer music from other music services to Apple Music on iPad

On your iPad, you can customize the layout in Music, both the tab bar and the sidebar, to personalize your experience. You can add items or remove them from the sidebar. You can also change their order, and add an item to the tab bar, such as Favorite Songs, or remove an item from the tab bar.

1. Open the Music app on your iPad.
2. Tap Edit at the top of the sidebar. If you don’t see the sidebar, tap the Show Sidebar button in the tab bar at the top.

   Tip: You can also touch and hold the tab bar.

3. Do any of the following:
   • Customize the sidebar: Tap items below Library to add or remove them from the sidebar; drag the Reorder button next to items to change their order.
   • Customize the tab bar: To add an item to the tab bar (such as Favorite Songs), drag it from the sidebar to the tab bar; to remove an item, drag it away from the tab bar.

See also

• Mark items as favorites in Apple Music on iPad
• Play music on iPad

The iTunes Store app lets you choose a different genre, browse by category, and see what’s popular on iTunes in Top Charts. Sharing an item, adding it to your wish list, and buying and downloading content all happen there, too. With the iTunes Store app, you can do any of the following:

• Find and buy music (see below)
• Get ringtones (see Get ringtones, text tones, and alert tones)
• See and manage all your purchases (see Manage your iTunes Store purchases and settings)

Note: You need an internet connection to use the iTunes Store. The availability of the iTunes Store and its features varies by country or region.

Find music

1. Start the iTunes Store app on your iPad.
2. Tap Music in the tab bar at the top, then do any of the following:
   • Browse by category: Scroll to see various categories.
   • Choose a different genre: Tap Genres at the top left of the screen. Then select one to refine your browsing.
   • See what’s popular on iTunes: Tap Top Charts in the tab bar at the top.
   • Search: Tap Search and enter what you’re looking for. Then tap Search on the keyboard.
3. Tap an item to see more information about it.
4. To share an item or add it to your wish list, tap the Share button and then do any of the following:
   • Share a link to the item: Choose a sharing option.
   • Give the item as a gift: Tap Gift.
   • Add the item to your wish list: Tap Add to Wish List.

Share an item or add it to your wish list

1. Start the iTunes Store app on your iPad.
2. Tap Music, tap the Share button, and do any of the following:
   • Share a link to the item: Choose a sharing option.
   • Give the item as a gift: Tap Gift.
   • Add the item to your wish list: Tap Add to Wish List.

     To view your wish list, rotate iPad to landscape orientation, tap Music in the tab bar at the top, tap the Item List button, then tap Wish List.

Buy and download content

1. Start the iTunes Store app on your iPad.
2. To buy an item, tap the price. If the item is free, tap Get.

   If you see the Download button instead of a price, you already purchased the item, and you can download it again without a charge.

3. If necessary, authenticate your Apple Account with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to complete the purchase.
4. To see the progress of a download, tap Downloads.

Redeem or send an App Store & iTunes Gift Card

1. Start the iTunes Store app on your iPad.
2. Tap Music in the tab bar at the top, then scroll to the bottom.
3. Tap Redeem or Send Gift.

When you purchase access to movies, TV shows, music, music videos, ebooks, audiobooks, or ringtones from Apple, you also have the option to permanently download these items to a compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC. Apple cannot revoke your downloaded content, and you can always access your downloaded content without an internet connection.

After you subscribe to Apple Music, you can pin your favorite music (including music videos) to the top of your library so it’s easily accessible. You can pin a playlist, an artist, an album, or a song, and unpin an item later. You can only pin content that’s in your library, though.

Pin music to the top of your library

1. Start the Music app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Show Sidebar button and tap a category under Library. Do any of the following:
   • Pin a playlist: Touch and hold a playlist or tap the More button when viewing a playlist. Tap Pin Playlist.
   • Pin an artist: Go to an artist page, tap the More button at the top of the screen, and then tap Pin Artist.
   • Pin an album: Touch and hold an album, then choose Pin Album. Or tap an album, tap the More button, and tap Pin Album.
   • Pin a song or music video: Touch and hold a song or video or tap the More button next to a song or video and then tap Pin [item]. Or on the Now Playing screen, tap the More button and then tap Pin [item].

Only content that’s in your library can be pinned, so pinning an artist requires at least some content by that artist in your library. Anything pinned sits at the top of your library.

Quick tip: To reorder your pins, drag them in the sidebar.

Unpin an item in your library

1. Start the Music app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Show Sidebar button, touch and hold a pinned item (below the Pins section), and tap Unpin [item].

Quick tip: If you’d like pinned items to download to your library automatically, go to Settings > Apps > Music and turn on Download Pins.

See also

• Play music on iPad