How to Get Free Apple Music in 2022

Without a doubt, Apple has become quite serious about its music streaming service Apple Music. Today, this isn’t just a viable alternative to popular services like Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, and similar – but a leader of the music streaming industry. If you’ve been wondering how to get free Apple Music in 2022, know that you’ve come to the right place.

Before we dive in, a quick note. At the moment, there are six ways to get Apple Music for free (for a limited time). However, the majority of these methods apply only to new subscribers. If you’re a newbie to Apple Music, here’s everything you want to know.

1. Best Buy Promo (4 Months of Free Apple Music)

By far, the best way to get free Apple Music in 2022 is via Best Buy. This retailer has struck a deal with Apple, giving its customers a six-month trial, which comes completely free of charge. Here’s how to take advantage of this offer.

1. Go to this Apple Music listing on Best Buy. Ensure that the page is offering you free Apple Music for six months. Click on “Add to Cart.”

2. In the pop-up that appears, proceed to click on the “Go to Cart” button.

3. You’ll see an overview of your cart. Select “Checkout” and log in to your Best Buy account. If you don’t have one, you can create one for free.

4. A digital code will be sent to the email address associated with your Best Buy account. Check your inbox and wait for the code to arrive.
5. To redeem your code, visit this page on Apple’s website. Select “Redeem your gift card,” and the website will open the corresponding application on your computer. You may be asked to log in to your Apple ID. Once you do so, you’ll get to redeem your code.

2. Apple Promo (1 Month of Free Apple Music)

Best Buy’s promotion gets you six months of Apple Music for free, while Apple’s promo is limited to only one month. However, we wanted to include this second method since Best Buy’s promo could end at any moment.

1. Go to the official Apple Music page on Apple’s website. As soon as the page opens, you should see several buttons labeled “Try 1 month free.” Go ahead and click on any of those buttons.

2. Apple Music has become available on the web recently, so you’ll redirected to that page. Sign in using your Apple ID to start taking advantage of the offer.
3. Confirm your purchase. For the trial to activate, you need to have a payment method associated with your Apple ID. Alternatively, you can redeem an Apple gift card. (Keep in mind that you’ll need to have at least $9.99 on your Apple ID for the trial to activate.)

3. Apple Product Promo (6 Months of Free Apple Music)

Another worthy promotion from Apple allows new subscribers to gain six months of free Apple Music within 90 days after the purchase of eligible Beats, AirPods, and HomePod mini devices.

Eligible Devices

• AirPods (2nd Generation)
• AirPods (3rd Generation)
• AirPods Max
• HomePod mini
• Beats Studio Buds
• Powerbeats
• Powerbeats Pro
• Beats Solo Pro
• Beats Fit Pro

If you have one of these devices, here’s how you can redeem your Apple Music free trial.

1. Ensure that your iPhone or iPad is running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS. Learn how to update your iOS device before attempting to activate this trial.
2. Pair an eligible audio device to your iPhone or iPad.
3. On your iPhone or iPad open the Music app and navigate to the “Listen Now” tab.
4. Then tap the button labeled “Get 6 months free” to redeem the offer.

Note: AirPods (1st generation), Beats Solo3 Wireless, Beats Studio3 Wireless, Beats EP, and Beats Flex are not eligible for this offer.

4. Shazam QR Code (3 Months of Free Apple Music)

Perhaps the simplest way to access three full months of Apple Music for free as a new subscriber is by scanning a QR code on the Shazam website using your iPhone or iPad.

1. On your PC, visit the Shazam Apple Music Offer page.

2. Launch the camera app on your iPhone or iPad and point it at the onscreen QR code. Then tap on the yellow URL redirect icon highlighted below.

3. After you scan the QR code, you will be redirected to a webpage to redeem the 3-month Apple Music offer. To link the offer to your Apple ID, tap the “Verify Your Identity” button and then sign in with your Apple ID credentials.

5. Extend Your Trial With Family Sharing (Another 3 months of Free Apple Music)

A little known trick enables users who already have an active Apple Music trial to extend the trial period by another three months using Apple’s Family Sharing feature. Family Sharing allows Apple ID holders to share their subscription services with up to five other family members. For this method to work properly you only need to add one family member to your network.

1. Utilize any of the above methods (Options 1-4) to ensure that you have an active trial of Apple Music.
2. The day before your Apple Music trial is set to expire navigate to the Settings app to activate Family Sharing. If you’re not familiar with this workflow you can discover how to set up Family Sharing on Apple devices.
3. Add at least one (or up to five) family member(s) to automatically renew your Apple Music subscription for you and your family member(s) for another three months. You can learn more about how to share Apple Music with your family by viewing our guide.

6. Verizon Promo (6 Months of Free Apple Music)

A promotional deal from the mobile carrier Verizon allows subscribers with select unlimited plan subscriptions to score up to six months of free Apple Music.

1. If Verizon is your mobile phone carrier start by visiting Verizon’s Apple Music Offer page to check your eligibility. This varies based on which plan you are subscribed to. Verizon’s Apple Music FAQ page provides some details regarding eligibility.
2. Select the button labeled “Get Apple Music” and then sign in with your Verizon account credentials to see if you are eligible for this promotion. If you are eligible, follow the onscreen instructions to enroll Apple Music on your Verizon unlimited data plan.

Note: There is no mention of needing to be a new Apple Music subscriber to be eligible for this promo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I redeem these offers on a PC or Android device?

Yes. These Apple Music trial offers can be redeemed on any PC (regardless of its OS) at music.apple.com. If you are using an Android smartphone or tablet you can access the Apple Music app and Shazam from the Play Store.

I would like to redeem the Apple product promo offer (option 3), but the 90-day expiration period has passed. Can I reactivate this offer?

Yes. Simply update your iPhone or iPad to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS (if available) to reactivate the 90-day activation period deadline. Owners of eligible devices have an additional 90 days after upgrading to the latest version iOS or iPadOS to redeem the six-month Apple Music trial.

Is there a difference between iTunes and Apple Music?

With the introduction of macOS Catalina back in 2019, Apple replaced the iTunes app with four standalone apps each offering dedicated service experiences, including the Apple Music app, the Apple Podcasts app, the Apple TV app, and the Apple Books App. You can still access your preexisting content from iTunes in any one of these standalone apps. An Apple Music subscription only enables access to over 90 million songs via the Music app and does not include access to other Apple services such as Apple TV+. Learn more about what happened to iTunes by visiting Apple’s support page.

Image credit: Malte Helmhold via Unsplash All screenshots taken by Brahm Shank