iTunes Experts: How Do Turn My Kids Onto the Wonders of iTunes

[TimElhajj]

Both kids are in middle school this year, so I wanted to give them something that offers them a little more autonomy in the world. iTunes accounts (along with some iPods) seems like a good idea.

The only trouble is how to get this shit to work. :) For some reason, iTunes and iPods seem terribly confusing to me, so I wanted to check in here.

Right now I have a single computer on which me and my kids each have our own user accounts. When any of us launch iTunes, we get our own collection of music, because iTunes installs are per user.

Now I want to get each kid their own iTunes store account. In the past, I have just downloaded the songs they want (charged to my card) and then burned, copied to PSP, or their own iTunes library (or whatever). Now I want to give them the privledge of finding and downloading their own music. I can still help them burn/copy to PSP, etc, but with each of us having our own iPod I am hoping they can do more on their own.

How is the best way to go about this? I have considered the following:

• Authorizing thier iTunes library with my iTune store account (which I believe is a per user setting). This might work, assuming I have two authorizations left, but it gives them access to my credit card.
  
• Give them their own iTunes store account on my CC (meh, see above)
  
• Give them their own iTunes store account on a Gift card (can you do this?)
  
• Something else?

[Ben Sones]

[*]Authorizing thier iTunes library with my iTune store account (which I believe is a per user setting). This might work, assuming I have two authorizations left, but it gives them access to my credit card.
[*]Give them their own iTunes store account on my CC (meh, see above)

iTunes has parental controls that let you set spending limits for your kids' accounts, so that they don't run your credit card to the limit. As such, I'd go with the second option.

[TimElhajj]

Ohhh. That's awesome!

I had seen the parental controls and expected to use them to limit songs with explicit content, but hadn't really investigated them too much. This is a huge bonus. Thanks Ben!

[Lorini]

Itunes has an allowance feature which I used for many years. That way you can control how much they spend and they can learn to budget.

[mono]

You can also just use gift cards to power their own accounts as opposed to your CC, but the allowance angle seems like it would work well enough.

[DennyA]

Tim,

Why not get them Zunes and ZunePasses? (Or Rhapsody-compatible portable players?) Then you can just spend the $15/month for a ZunePass, and they can download and play any of millions of songs. Plus they get to keep $10/month worth of "permanently theirs" MP3s, so if they were going to be buying songs anyway, the end cost is just $5/month each.

Sounds like they already have iPods, alas, but used/refurb Zunes are Teh Cheap. :)

It just seems to me like subscription music would be awesome for teens who are still exploring their musical tastes.

Even with the iPods, a ZunePass isn't completely useless. They could use the pass to stream/download as much music as they wanted on their PCs, and then download $10 worth of MP3s they like for their iPods each month, and individually purchase additional MP3 tunes for their iPods as well. Just a little more hassle transferring the Zune MP3s to iPods.

(Not shilling for The Man here... I've made no secret of my unnatural love for my iPhone on these here boards. But subscription music would have been awesome when I was a teenager.)

[Tracy Baker]

That Rhapsody/Zunepass suggestion is a good one, especially if your goal is to let them explore music, because instead of having to listen to 30-second snippets they have access to millions of full tracks.

Another alternative is to set them up with their own Amazon PayPhrases. These let them shop on your account without needing to know your credit card number or account info, but you define their spending limits and you can also set it up so you have to authorize everything they buy. Amazon's music catalog is fantastic, tends to be less expensive than iTunes, and is 100% DRM-free.

[Lorini]

That Rhapsody/Zunepass suggestion is a good one, especially if your goal is to let them explore music, because instead of having to listen to 30-second snippets they have access to millions of full tracks.

Another alternative is to set them up with their own Amazon PayPhrases. These let them shop on your account without needing to know your credit card number or account info, but you define their spending limits and you can also set it up so you have to authorize everything they buy. Amazon's music catalog is fantastic, tends to be less expensive than iTunes, and is 100% DRM-free.

Just to mention that Itunes music is now DRM free also, all of it.

[DennyA]

Just to mention that Itunes music is now DRM free also, all of it.

But it's in AAC format, which can require conversion for use on some devices, streaming, etc. IMHO Amazon, et. al. offering their music in the universal MP3 format is the better way to go.

[Creole Ned]

The Zune, interestingly, supports the AAC format.

[DennyA]

Yep, AAC has pretty wide support. But there's nary a music player this side of a 1990s Digital Walkman with no firmware update that doesn't support MP3.

[Lorini]

AAC is not DRM, it's just a different format. I use doubletwist.com on my AAC files if I want MP3, it's not a big deal.

[Tracy Baker]

AAC is not DRM, it's just a different format. I use doubletwist.com on my AAC files if I want MP3, it's not a big deal.

Who in this thread said AAC was DRM? And where did I imply that iTunes has DRM? Why do you keep responding to things people didn't say?

[Lorini]

Who in this thread said AAC was DRM? And where did I imply that iTunes has DRM? Why do you keep responding to things people didn't say?

And why don't you take responsibility for what you do say, Tracy?

Amazon PayPhrases. These let them shop on your account without needing to know your credit card number or account info, but you define their spending limits and you can also set it up so you have to authorize everything they buy. Amazon's music catalog is fantastic, tends to be less expensive than iTunes, and is 100% DRM-free.

If you just need someone to attack, why don't you look elsewhere? Reading that, you don't mention that both services are DRM free. There's no need for the DRM free reference unless you are implying that itunes is not DRM free. They both are download services, you could have mentioned that too.

Try the /ignore next time and do us both a favor.

[Tracy Baker]

And why don't you take responsibility for what you do say, Tracy?



If you just need someone to attack, why don't you look elsewhere? Reading that, you don't mention that both services are DRM free. There's no need for the DRM free reference unless you are implying that itunes is not DRM free. They both are download services, you could have mentioned that too.

Try the /ignore next time and do us both a favor.

Take responsibility for what I say? Tim and other members of his family already use iTunes. It's safe to assume he knows it's DRM-free now. I was describing Amazon's service, which he may not be familiar with.

Look back at your responses and you'll see that it's clear that you're the one with the agenda and/or chip on your shoulder.

Your other posts on the site are valuable. I'm not going to put you on ignore for a few comments correcting people for things they never said.

[Creole Ned]

Yep, AAC has pretty wide support. But there's nary a music player this side of a 1990s Digital Walkman with no firmware update that doesn't support MP3.

That's true. My Sansa Clip, which I prefer in many ways over the nano, does not support AAC.

[TimElhajj]

Just to mention that Itunes music is now DRM free also, all of it.

I just downloaded a music video from iTunes that had DRM on it. I had to liberate it to get it on my son's PSP.

[TimElhajj]

Tim,

Why not get them Zunes and ZunePasses? (Or Rhapsody-compatible portable players?) Then you can just spend the $15/month for a ZunePass, and they can download and play any of millions of songs. Plus they get to keep $10/month worth of "permanently theirs" MP3s, so if they were going to be buying songs anyway, the end cost is just $5/month each.

Sounds like they already have iPods, alas, but used/refurb Zunes are Teh Cheap. :)

It just seems to me like subscription music would be awesome for teens who are still exploring their musical tastes.

Even with the iPods, a ZunePass isn't completely useless. They could use the pass to stream/download as much music as they wanted on their PCs, and then download $10 worth of MP3s they like for their iPods each month, and individually purchase additional MP3 tunes for their iPods as well. Just a little more hassle transferring the Zune MP3s to iPods.

(Not shilling for The Man here... I've made no secret of my unnatural love for my iPhone on these here boards. But subscription music would have been awesome when I was a teenager.)

Thanks for posting, Denny. I mentioned the Zune to my wife just tonight, but couldn't remember the details of the plan, which looks like is the big difference. I was thinking the big difference was that Zune had an FM tuner, but now that you mention it, the subscription service might be pretty cool.

I'm going to have to check it out. My kids don't have iPods, but my wife and I do. The only big danger in getting them Zunes for Christmas would be the perception that Mom and Dad get all the cool stuff and the kids get junk. Now if it were an Xbox, my 11 year old would be all over it. The marketing wrinkle!

[DennyA]

If you get them Zune HDs, there shouldn't be any "junk" concerns. Best screen on the market, and the unlimited music fountain... :) Plus there are some cool games the 11 year old will dig. It doesn't have the iPod name, but once you try a Zune HD, you see the cool. It's come a long way since the 1st gen unit.

But yeah, the real key is the subscription music. Once you try that, it's impossible to live without. The ability to listen to everything from the ancient crap your parents tell you was great music to just about all the major albums released each week is addictive.

[antifood]

Kids usually have a pretty good idea as to what they want, regardless of technical specs.

[DennyA]

Kids usually have a pretty good idea as to what they want, regardless of technical specs.

Yes, but how often do kids know what's best for them? :)

[antifood]

Yes, but how often do kids know what's best for them? :)

When it comes to a toy or social related item? More than the well intending parent :)

[Supertanker]

My kids share a ZunePass, and they all love it. You can use it on three Zunes (and three or four PCs), so they all have it installed on their own computers, which also keeps their music separate. Since they split the cost, $5 a month for unlimited music is hard to beat.

[Balasarius]

iTunes is a horrible app. It would be cruel to my family to inflict that shit upon them.

[TimElhajj]

My kids share a ZunePass, and they all love it. You can use it on three Zunes (and three or four PCs), so they all have it installed on their own computers, which also keeps their music separate. Since they split the cost, $5 a month for unlimited music is hard to beat.

This is huge. I was just discussing with my wife today and I was thinking it was a per child charge.

I wonder how valuable it is if your kids just like pop music? They really only want to hear the top 40. I'm the one that wants the oldies AND wants to know what the kids are listening too.

[TimElhajj]

iTunes is a horrible app. It would be cruel to my family to inflict that shit upon them.

I can agree with this. Once every few times I open it, iTunes acts as if this is the very first time I've ever opened it and shows me a screen about searching all my hard drives and would I like it to rearange all my music files? Goddamn iTunes asking me stupid questions again. Go away!

[Rumpy]

For what it's worth, the iPod Nano now has an FM tuner.

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/features/fm-radio.html

[Supertanker]

I wonder how valuable it is if your kids just like pop music? They really only want to hear the top 40. I'm the one that wants the oldies AND wants to know what the kids are listening too.

It does make it painless for them to explore music a little more. For instance, they have been downloading & listening to a lot of things from Rock Band, so they are more familiar with the lyrics. They sometimes then check out more from the same artists.

[TimElhajj]

For what it's worth, the iPod Nano now has an FM tuner.

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/features/fm-radio.html

Yeah, I saw that this morning at the Apple store. It also has video (playback and record), which is pretty compelling for my daughter. It doesn't have the WOW factor the touch has, so it's a hard call.

[sinfony]

FFS, it's a music player. I happily used a refurbed Sansa running Rockbox after growing dissatisfied with iTunes and the iPod line (I've owned two and my fiance has owned three or four) until I broke it (knocked it from high height to hard floor). The only "wow factor" that should be involved in a music player should come from what you're listening to; hardware design and interface should simply be there to assist you in that. Unless the UI has changed significantly in the recent iPods, I don't think it does a particularly good job of that, compared to Rockbox (particularly with the ability to manage playlist and queues when you're away from the computer).