Downloading music from iTunes is one of the basic ways the Internet has changed our lives. It was not that long ago that music lovers had to find the local music shop and buy the full CD if they wanted to hear their favorite band or songs. This produced a lot of disappointment and frustration, because so many albums had only one or two "good songs" on it.
Syncing your iPod, iPhone, iPad, or other mp3 player to the Apple iTunes store changed all of that. Consumers now navigate to YouTube or Amazon or a song lyrics website to find the specific tune they like, then rush off to the Itunes store to buy the song they want. They do not have to buy a compact disc any longer.
Technical Issues on iTunes
Of course, iTunes is not perfect. I do not know how many people I've heard complain they would like to use the store, but for one reason or another, they do not want to use their Visa or Mastercard on the Apple site or they can not use their credit card. The iTunes support pages claim you can download without a credit card, but often in practice, that's a lot harder than it looks.
I did a little research and found where the problem lies. The people who complain that Apple will not allow them to set up an account without a credit card are right – they can not by most reasonable methods. Using or two little tips and understanding why people get married up allows music downloaders to get the hit singles and catchy songs that they want while using debit card, prepaid gift cards, or coupon codes for free tunes at the Apple store. One little false step and it will not work for you, but it's possible.
Free Apps Store – Not the Main iTunes Store
The main trip-up point is that people go to the Main Apple iTunes Store instead of the Free Apps Store. In either case, you're asked to "Create Account". When many people see the "Go Here, Create Account" advice, they assume the official store is the right location and only translate the "Create Account" advice. This means they're trying to do the right thing in the wrong location and it's not going to work. So I'm going to spell this out again.
Do not go to the Main Apple iTunes Store. Instead, go to the Apple Free Apps Store. When you go to the free apps page, you'll need to install a free applications. When this happens, you'll be asked whether you want to create a new account. Click on "yes". Once you do this, input your debt information instead of your credit card. This should get you into the system without a credit card. Once again, if you try the exact same thing at the official Apple iTunes store, you will not be able to do what you want without inputting credit card information.
Downloading Music without Credit Cards
I'm not saying this could not be made a little simpler by the people at Apple. I suppose they would prefer you just use a credit card, but many of us do not want to use a credit card online or do not have that privilege, so it's nice to have options. I'm convinced less people would get involved in torrents and other forms of musical piracy if they did not have to use plastic for every purchase, but that's just a theory of mine. In either case, I hope these suggestions help you get iTunes without needing a Mastercard or Visa.
Source by Chuck Flick
