On June 30, 2015, Apple launched its much-talked-about Apple Music, a service that lets the user stream playlists, search for specific songs, follow their favorite artists, and more. The first three months of Apple Music are free. After that, an individual membership is $9.99 per month and a family membership is $14.99 per month.
Compatibility Requirements
For iOS devices, version 8.4 of the operating system is required. iTunes 12.2 is required for Mac and PC. Android users will have access to Apple Music this fall.
Setting up Apple Music on an iOS Device
After opening the Music app on an iOS device, information about Apple Music is displayed in two buttons: "Start 3-month Free Trial" and "Go to My Music." The latter button takes you out of the Apple Music signup process and back to music that you already own.
When the "Start 3-month Free Trial" button is activated, the next page has information about membership. The first part of the page lets you know that the first three months are free. After three months, your Apple Music plan will renew automatically unless you turn off Automatic Renewal in your Apple Music account.
Next is a "Learn More About Apple Music" button. Activating this button loads an information page in Safari. The same information can be found at the Apple Music website.
Next are buttons for choosing a plan: $9.99 for an individual and $14.99 for a family of up to six members. You must have Family Sharing enabled to use the family option. Next are pages for entering your Apple ID and password, for accepting Apple's terms and conditions, and for verification that you want the membership. Shortly after you complete registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. It explains subscription terms and contains a link to manage the subscription. You can also manage your subscription through the Music app on the iOS device.
Apple Music on iOS
The iOS Music app has undergone significant changes to include Apple Music. At the top left of the screen is the "My Account" button. Here is where your Apple Music subscription can be cancelled. Double tap on the button and once you are in the My Account section, double tap on the "View Apple ID" option. From there, select "Subscriptions."
Apple Music has many commands. However, it uses the same commands throughout the app, making it easy to use.
Siri will play content from Apple Music. You can ask for a specific song, album, artist, playlist, or genre. Siri can play songs from a specific year and can skip tracks. This is a quick and easy way to access your music.
There are five tabs: For You, New, Radio, Connect, and My Music. Each of these tabs has a search box at the top right of the screen.
For You
The tab on the bottom left of the screen is For You. There, you can choose genres and artists. Choices can later be modified in the My Account settings.
When For You is selected, a heading says, "Tell us what you're into." You first chose genres. VoiceOver says to tab once on the genres you like, twice on the ones you love, and press and hold the ones you do not like. These instructions do not work with VoiceOver. Options for each genre are Loved, Very Loved, and Not Loved.
There are two ways to select your opinion of a genre. Cycle through the options by double tapping on a genre. If you don't get the result you want, double tap again and if you still don't get the result you want, double tap once more. This will indicate the third option. If you want to delete a genre, double tap and hold. VoiceOver will say the name of the genre and the word "banned." A banned genre can be reactivated.
VoiceOver sometimes loses focus such as when selecting genres. After a genre is selected, VoiceOver may jump to the top of the genre list rather than just going to the next genre. Sometimes choices for genres and artists are not saved.
Another way to interact with genres is to use the rotor. In the Actions section of the rotor are two options, Activate Item and Ban. If you love a genre, select Activate. If you really love a genre, select Activate again. If you do not want music from a specific genre, activate the Ban option. Genre selection may be changed at any time.
After selecting genres, you need to select artists within a chosen genre. While still in the For You tab, activate the "Next" button located to the right of the "Account" button.
When the next screen appears, VoiceOver will tell you to choose three or more of your favorites. Select artists the same way as selecting genres.
Artists are not presented in alphabetical order or by genres. After the final artist is spoken, flick right three times to a button labeled "More Artists." Activating this button will bring up a new list of artists. Choose as many artists as you like. Sometimes the list will include previously mentioned artists and a few new artists will be at the bottom of the list. This will help Apple Music create playlists for you. Once all genres and artists have been selected, activate the "Done" button at the top right of the screen.
The For You tab will still be active and the "My Account" button will still be in the upper left corner. There will be a For You heading in the top middle of the screen. A button for searching is at top right of the screen.
On the main part of the screen will be a list of playlists that Apple has chosen based on your artist and genre selections. If the selection is a playlist designed by Apple, VoiceOver will say "Playlist by Apple Music" and the genre. If the playlist is an album, VoiceOver will say the album's name, genre and year. After the title of a playlist or the name of an album, VoiceOver speaks a very brief description of the music.
Start music playing by flicking up with one finger to activate item. If music is not already playing, then the playlist or album will start. If music is playing when you make your selection, new music will be cued and played after the previously selected music has finished. To start the new music, flick down with one finger and activate the "Play" option.
Within a few seconds, music will start playing. Information that was just on the main screen will still be there. Near the bottom of the screen will be a Mini Player. To get to it quickly, touch the bottom left corner of the screen by the For You tab and flick left. You will then encounter the Mini Player and hear VoiceOver say how much of the song has already been played. Next will be a "More" button, followed by a button labeled with the song's title and artist and a "Play/Pause" button. A song can also be paused and then started again with a two-finger double tap. Siri will also skip a track if given the Skip command.
Selecting the button with the song's title and artist will present a new Now Playing screen with included artwork, elapsed time of song, the album title, and buttons labeled "Previous Track," "Play," and "Next Track." There are also buttons for Shuffle and Sharing. A "More" button provides options such as Start Station, Add to My Music, and View in iTunes Store. There are options to share the song or playlist.
Another way to play music is to double tap on the name of the playlist or album displayed on the For You screen. On the next page, there will be a "Play" button, a description of the album or playlist's content, the track list, a button to love or not love the playlist, a button to add the playlist to your music collection and other buttons described in the section above.
You can also double tap on a particular song to play it. Once music starts playing, the Mini Player and corresponding information will appear near the bottom of the screen.
Below the track list will be buttons for featured artists in the playlist. Activating one of these buttons presents options including Follow and Top Songs.
New
The New tab, located next to the For You tab, displays new content. The same gestures that work in the For You tab will work here. Content includes Albums, Top Charts, and Hot Tracks. This is a good place to find out what is current and trending.
Radio
The next tab is Radio. If you have already created stations in iTunes Radio, they will be here. Apple's 24/7 live radio station, called Beats 1, is the first item in the radio tab.
Connect
The fourth tab is Connect. Use Connect to follow artists and comment on their posts. You will probably have some artists that you are following based on your iTunes library. When VoiceOver reads an artist's name, you will also hear the word "button." Double tapping on the button will load a new page with the artist's posts and comments made by other followers. There is also an edit box if you wish to post a comment.
Near the top right of the screen is a button labeled "See who you're following." Activating it will bring up a list of artists of possible interest. Next to each name is a button to follow that artist. If this button is selected, the next page provides a "Follow" button, a "Share" button, and a "More" button. The "Share" and "More" buttons are similar to the same buttons described above. If the "Follow" button is chosen, VoiceOver will say "Following." Double tapping the button will change the status back to "Follow." Apple Music also has "Follow" buttons for its various genres.
My Music
The final tab is My Music. This tab is significantly different than its iOS 8.3 version. There are two radio buttons labeled "Library" and "Playlists." Next is a "Search" button and a "Recently Added" button. A few recently added items will also be to the right of the button.
The next control is a "Category" button for choosing how you'd like your content sorted—by artist, song, album, or genre. Once a selection is made, there will be a table index on the right side of the screen, just as in the previous version of the Music app. Flicking up or down on an item will present options to Play, Activate Item, or More. The More option includes Remove or Make Songs Available Offline. When a song is playing, the Mini Player and controls will be near the bottom of the screen. The More button next to the Mini Player provides additional options including Add to a Playlist and View in iTunes Store. Add a song to a playlist by double tapping on that item. A list of playlists will be displayed. Double tap on the playlist you want.
The second button in the My Music tab is "Playlists." Your old playlists are here as well as any Apple Music playlists you have chosen.
Apple Music on the Mac
Apple Music works on the Mac but is easier to use and set up on an iOS device. If you have already signed up for Apple Music on an iOS device, you do not have to do it again on your Mac. Make sure that you have iTunes 12.2 on your Mac before trying to use Apple Music. It is important that you are familiar with VoiceOver on the Mac, because you will need to interact a lot with the application. Using the End + Control + Option + Fn + Right Arrow (VO + Fn +Right Arrow) can quickly get you to the results table. Using the Home + Control + Option + Fn + Left + Arrow (VO + FN + Left Arrow) can get you quickly to the LCD section.
iTunes Layout
In iTunes 12.2, the Store menu has been replaced by the Account menu. At the top of the iTunes window are the "Previous," "Play," and "Next" buttons followed by the volume slider. Then comes the Apple logo and the LCD section.
The next item is the "Store Account" button. Selecting this button will present a table of six options including Artists for You, Account Information, and Wish List. Once an item is selected, use Fn + Control + Option + Right Arrow (VO + End) to get to the results. Leave the Artists for You option for later. It can be used to modify the genres and artists you like once Apple Music is set up.
Moving to the right, there is a search box followed by options to go to the previous or next iTunes Store page. Next are four radio buttons: "Music," "Movies," "TV Shows," and "More." The "More" button has podcasts, books, and other content.
Next are a series of seven radio buttons: "My Music," "Playlists," "For You," "New," "Radio," "Connect," and "iTunes Store." Start the Apple Music sign-up process by selecting the "For You" button. Next use VO + End to get to the table with HTML content. Interact with the table and locate the "Start 3-Month Free Trial" option and select it. Next, choose a membership plan. Then you will need to sign into the iTunes Store with your Apple ID and Password.
For You
The next part of setting up Apple Music is to choose genres and then artists you like. Use the table provided to make selections. Unfortunately, VoiceOver does not give good feedback during this process. This part of the sign-up procedure works much better on an iOS device. Do not follow the instructions that you will hear for choosing genres and then artists. As you land on a genre, VO + Space on it. Doing this once will indicate that you Like the genre, doing it a second time indicates that you Love the genre and doing it once more indicates that you Don't Like it. Once genres are chosen, activate the Next button and repeat the process of selection, this time with Artists. There is also a More Artists button that will list more choices. Activate the "Done" button once all choices have been made. The For You button will now always offer recommendations. Go to the "Store Account" button and select Choose Artists for You to make changes to genres and artists.
Once genres and artists are chosen, still with the "For You" radio button, Apple Music will display a selection of playlists created by Apple Music and albums by specific artists. These results and all Apple Music content will be listed in the HTML table. Remember to interact with the table to review results. Use VO and the Left and Right Arrow keys to go through the table. If the item is a playlist, VoiceOver will say "Apple Music," a very brief description of the playlist, and the genre. If it's an album, VoiceOver will say the album title, artist's name, year, and genre.
Next to the listing is an unlabeled play button. Typing VO + Space on the button will start the album playing. When reviewing a list of results, if you hear "clickable" on an album's name, type VO + Space and a scroll area will load. It is possible that VoiceOver will lose focus and it may be necessary to type VO + End to get back to content.
The scroll area begins with a Header group. Interact with it. There will then be Options to Play, Shuffle, Add to Library, and Love the Album. Press the spacebar to Love or Not Love an item. The more Apple Music knows about music you like, the more accurate it can be with recommendations. There is also an Action Menu with additional options.
To view the track list, VO + Right Arrow to the album's table. Interact with the table to review individual tracks. Start a track playing by pressing the Return key. Music can then be started and stopped with the spacebar. Stop interacting with the track table and VO + Right Arrow to find a list of other albums by the same artist. VO + Right Arrow again to another list of artists that Apple Music thinks you will like.
Unfortunately, once music in a playlist has started playing, to view contents of the playlist, it is necessary to go to the LCD section.
Once at the LCD section, interact with it. Standard information will be there including Track Name, Artist, and an Action Menu. Select View Album from the Action Menu. Then stop interacting with the LCD section and use VO + End to get to the scroll area. Once there, the playlist information is presented the same way as albums are presented. The Action Menu in the LCD section has additional useful options including whether to add the song to My Music or to a playlist.
Apple Music lets the user search for any artist, album, or song. Start the search process by going to the Search box with Command + F and type your search. The results will be in a table next to the Search box. What appears in the table will depend on your search criteria. For example, if you search for an artist, some headings in the results may include Artist, Songs, Albums, and Playlists.
New
When the "New" radio button is selected, the Apple Music window lists new songs, albums, playlists, and more. It is definitely worth exploring this section. Use the same navigation techniques that are used in the For You section.
Radio
The Radio section is similar to the previous iTunes Radio. There is now a 24-hour live station called Beats 1. With an Apple Music subscription, all ads are gone. Any radio stations you previously created will still be in the section.
Connect
The final option in Apple Music is Connect, where artists and fans can interact. Artists can post updates, concert information, or anything else they wish. In order to view a particular artist's posts, it is first necessary to follow them. This feature worked well in Apple Music for iOS, but not on the Mac.
Conclusion
Apple Music is an excellent service with a tremendous amount of content. It works beautifully on iOS devices. Everything is labeled and easy to navigate. Although most of Apple Music is accessible on the Mac, it is more complicated to use and VoiceOver does not work as well.
Editor's Note
After the writing of this article, Apple informed us that updates have been made to Apple Music which may increase its accessibility to people using VoiceOver.
Related articles:
- A New Music Streaming Service: iTunes Radio is Here by Janet Ingber
- A Review of Spotify Free and Songza: Take the Music with You by Janet Ingber
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