I wrote a post well over 2 years ago about how us South African’s couldn’t buy music on iTunes and that the alternatives we do have are well below par. Well, I thought I’d write a follow up post on how easy it is to actually buy music (and iPhone / iPod Touch applications) on iTunes. So here is a quick guide on how to buy music from iTunes in South Africa.
Setup a U.S. based iTunes account
In order to do this, you need to download any free iPhone app from the U.S. iTunes app store, create a new account, select None when they ask for your payment method and fill in the rest of the information. Simple?
Here is a step by step guide:
Click on iTunes Store in the left sidebar of iTunes. Make sure you are in the U.S. store, but scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the circle icon and selecting United States.
Once you are in the US iTunes store, find the Free Apps section in the right sidebar of the page, hover over any of those apps, and click the Free link. A popup window will appear where you must click the Create New Account button. Follow the next few steps until they ask for payment. Make sure you use a valid email address, as you going to need it to validate your account.
On the Provide a Payment Method screen, make sure you select NONE.
Fill in the rest of the details using fake details you can generate using the Fake Name Generator website. Don’t worry, Apple won’t ever use these details.
Once that step is complete, iTunes will send you a confirmation email. You need to click the link in that email to verify the account. Once you have done that, you are now the proud owner of an U.S. iTunes account. Click on the Sign In link in the top right corner to login.
Buying music from iTunes
Once you have your U.S. iTunes account setup, you are going to need to buy iTunes gift cards that you can load into your account to spend. There are 2 websites that come recommended:
- iTunes Express (I have personally used this service without any problems)
- MediaWoB (recommended by friends)
Once you have purchased the gift card, you’ll receive an email from them with a code. Click on the Redeem link under the Quick Links section (top right of iTunes Store), enter the Gift Card code and off you go!
You should now see your email address next to the value of your gift card loaded in the status bar like the image below:
You can now buy music and apps from the iTunes store!
Disclaimer: This does violate the terms of conditions of the iTunes store, but the music industry in SA need to catch a wake up. There is no decent place to buy music online in South Africa. At least this way, you aren’t pirating music (the artist is getting paid), the only people suffering are the record labels in SA who won’t get their commission.
Hat tip goes to Marc Forrest. Read his blog for some excellent iPhone related tips and tricks.
51 Comments
9:20 am
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I think you should also mention that even though you’re paying for the music, by doing this you violate the terms and condition of the US iTunes music store,
9:58 am
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@Gary, good point. I’ve added in a disclaimer at the bottom.
12:30 pm
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Thanks for this, I’m going to try it out. As for a place to buy music legally in SA, http://www.amiestreet.com is an option. Mostly indie artists, but still an awesome collection of music, and quite an original model as well.
10:59 am
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I’ve just bought my first voucher from itunes express and added it to my US itunes account.
Thanks for this great tip!
11:36 am
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Nice one Gino!
1:16 am
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Thanks Jason for sharing this – much appreciated. Just purchased a gift card
4:43 pm
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Thanks for the info…
What version of iTunes did you use?
Current version (9.0.3.15) does not allow for ‘None’ payment selection.
8:30 pm
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I have a much better idea. Use a peer 2 peer network to download music for free. It’s illegal but you know what? It’s the South African music industry who are preventing us from legitimately buying music. They are perpetuating the problem. I would much rather pay for music but if they want to be stupid then i will do it my way. Apple does not even bother to explain why itunes is not available on the iphone. Thats why people jailbreak and why people. Download music illegally. If they cant see that they are costing the country millions of rands then they are stupid. Until such tine as the SA music industry and Apple wake up, too bad.
4:12 pm
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Does this mean that there are STILL no plans for an online istore in ZA? What about iPad and whether or not we’ll be able to buy ebooks etc using that?
Neal
10:12 am
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this computer stuff is difficult – my son has opened UK itunes acc for me to use here – trying to get uk vouchers ??? credt card from here ????
12:19 am
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I am Angolan and I am very glad and thankfull for your advice, as I was looking for a way to buy music from here. Best wishes.
9:40 am
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HI Jason
quick question… ive done all of the above, now awaiting the arrival of my electronic voucher. did the transaction about 16 mins ago. i however noted that they mention time slots which you should avoid.
you are based in South Africa right and at what time of the day do you normally buy your vouchers and how long do they take to get sent to you? what exactly should i be looking out for?
thanks for your help dude
9:55 am
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I bought gift cards from iTunes Express yesterday 10th at about 6 pm to 8 pm UTC and it took 1 to 20 minutes to receive on email. Furthermore, they really work.
9:59 am
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Osvaldo… thing is im in Saudi Arabia timezone GMT+3… lol its bit early in the morning for me to figure out these time differences! its 11AM here now
12:19 pm
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Hey guys, they usually arrive at the worst 3-4 hours after you pay for the gift cards. Don’t worry too much about time zones etc, just don’t be in too much of a rush – they will come!
12:49 pm
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True Jason
like you say, all that’s needed is a bit of patience, I got my voucher code at about 4pm (GMT+3) yesterday, so I guess the dude was still sleeping when I did the payment. If works like a charm, I’m facing problems with applications paid for with my previous account on my iPhone though, but there’s a work around for that!
I’ve bought a couple a songs I like already this morning
thanks again for this write up
3:07 pm
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Can anyone help me please ? I bought a ringtone off iTunes as per the above. Only problem is,it’s sitting in my “Purchased” folder in iTunes and I can’t figure out how to drag it to the Ringtones folder in my Library. If I drag it over there, a blue block appears around all the Library folders with a small + sign but nothing happens when I try put it in there….sigh.
Any help would be greatly appreciated !
12:21 pm
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if i have UK itunes account can i feed it with a $ voucher/card ???
1:06 pm
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Hey Barry, I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think you can load a US iTunes gift card onto a UK account.
11:59 pm
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Again Jason, I would like to express my gratitude for this aid. Finally it is possible to by music and not steal it, regardless of regional legal issues.
Much appreciated.
1:20 pm
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Hey Jason,
Thanks for this post – I read it some months ago and filed it. I’ve just returned and bought an iTunes voucher.
I set up a US account when I was teaching in the states in 2007. Since then I’ve always either stocked up on vouchers when traveling through, or ordered them from have2have (not a pleasant experience!)
I have a brand new Apple iPad arriving on Thursday and so wanted to stock my account with a few US$ for some new apps!
Thanks for the info – worked like a charm thus far.
Regards,
Dion
9:28 pm
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i did all the steps up until the payment options. there is no none payment option any more. it seems that they found out, and shut down that option as from the twenties of april. please help.
12:14 am
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I am not sure, but I also believe that does not exist an option to open an account without specifying the payment method anymore.
Mine was open years ago. If the account already exists, the “None” option for payment is still there, and as it is fortunately explained here it is possible to buy from there buying gift cards and load them through “Redeem” on store via iTunes media player.
1:17 pm
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Indeed so , no more “none ” paying options. I’ve got a pregnant wife who wants to buy ITUNES , now..!! Please help!!
8:30 pm
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Pedro and Anton, you need to download a FREE app and then setup your account.
3:33 pm
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Excellent advice, set up the US itunes account and paid via ituens express. Got the code within 3 minutes of payment!
It worked!
ps. the noneoption still works when choosing the free app route …
8:23 pm
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Hi. I created my account successfully with your help on how to.
Now my question is?
I bought two songs. how do i get them on my ipod? is it the vouchers you guys are talking about thati need to wait for before i can redeem it?
10:27 pm
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Hi Elzhet, have you downloaded the songs and can you play them from your iTunes library? If so, just connect your iPod to your PC / Mac and drag the songs into your iPod. (The iPod will show up under devices when iTunes is open)
11:23 am
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Jason please help.
I am so excited about creating my account but I cant seem to find the Free Link that you talk about. This is as far as I get http://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/free-apps/ . This is driving me insane, please help. Can you perhaps post the correct link if I am in the wrong place.
Thanks
12:32 pm
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Hey Jax, you need to be using iTunes – not the apple.com website. Click on the iTunes store link when you have iTunes open.
8:50 pm
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I dont see any replies to Gerhard’s comment on 12 March.
I have not been able to create an account using iTunes 9.1.1.12
10:13 am
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Hey Rob, just follow the instructions. :) Everyone else has got it working.
10:32 am
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Hey Jason :-) No actually you can’t click on the “none” button with ver 9. What you have to do is FIRST buy the voucher from iTunes-express. To do this you need to set up a Pay-Pal account. Abraham Saavedra will then send you a code a few hours later. This code can be used as payment for setting up the iTunes account.
Got it?
12:13 pm
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Hey Rob, I actually set up an account last night for a friend of mine on a brand new install of iTunes and you can select None as a payment method. You have to try and download a FREE app, which then asks you for billing information BUT allows you to select None.
12:40 pm
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hi jason, let me know if the only way to buy gift cards on itunes-express is by paypal?
i dont have a paypal account….what a mission :)
any solutions?
4:35 pm
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Hi Jason,I already have a SA account for the app store.Can I still use the method described to buy music and movies.
5:10 pm
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Hey Gerhard, you going to need a UK or US account to buy music and movies. Just sign up with a new email address, or better yet, add or remove a fullstop from your gmail account. I.E. jason.bagley and jasonbagley [@] gmail are exactly the same (try it!), but Apple don’t know that!
4:01 pm
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Tx Jason
I did what you say. Ran in some trouble like the other guys but then made it work through your responses.
Does buying tv episodes work?
3:18 pm
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Hi Jason,
I’ve have been using the Nokia Ovi Player and Nokia Music store to buy music online. I’m not a fan of having CD’s all over the house and am looking for an answer to a question I am finding hard to find online.
Will music ever be available for purchase in South Africa through iTunes? I could just go the hack route that you have mentioned but am trying to avoid this method. I don’t suppose you could help me with an answer.
We are hosting the world cup but can’t even buy music through iTunes SA…
6:05 pm
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Thanks a million for the great advice.
12:33 am
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Downloaded my first song toningt and it feels great. Any idea on how to acess the music store from my iPhone?
2:54 pm
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i have a greek itunes account set up…but just realised now that im not getting full advantages of having a US itunes account (no movies/shows etc) now that the portal has been opened up, im going to be following your advice on how to purchase items etc-BUT…i have a quick question-so when i download a movie (and can i download movies?) will that use up my internet cap? or are the movies compressed in a way that will make them so much more convenient than having to download them via other none payment method ways?
THANKS!
4:40 pm
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Hi Maria, the movies aren’t compressed in any way as people usually want to watch the movies on their LCD tv hooked up via Apple TV. So to answer your question, it will use up your bandwidth cap.
11:53 am
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hey – if they don’t want to sell to us South African – try http://www.gomusicnow.com. Thousands of SA users.
11:19 am
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Thanks for the tips, Jason.
Do you have any idea why we’re not making any progress on the iTunes front in South Africa? Who’s blocking the whole process? I’m really keen to start a campaign to put pressure on the guys responsible.
6:34 pm
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Hi Jason I set up the account and bought the gift voucher.
When I enter the number on ITunes I am always requested to enter my membership ID and my password and the response I get is that vouchers are not accepted for South African and the syatem takes me back to South African store. Please help me as I have already bought the voucher.
8:43 pm
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Hi Jason.
Tried to setup US iTunes account, but when I get to payment method screen there is no ‘none’ option displayed.
10:01 pm
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Hi Jason, sorry did not read , I had to choose a free app, which I did and the ‘none’ option came up, I filled in the fake generated details but when I pressed continue is came up with the error:
Your credit card was declined. Please enter valid credit card information.
I definately have ‘none’ selected, help please.
9:09 am
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@Johan. You must be doing something wrong, make sure that you follow the instructions on this site to the word and it will work. I just opened an account for a friend of mine and it definitely works.
Go back and read the instructions carefully again and you will see it does work.
Then get yourself an apple TV, Uncapped ADSL and enjoy…
5:38 pm
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Amie Street is a alternative but they don’t have a great selection!I have noticed that all the American Music sites including Amazon, emusic, napstar,7 digital etc will not allow us South Africans to purchase music from them!!! So it seems we have to resort to file sharing unless we do it as Jason says with Itunes.I think this is a disgrace that we have to resort to these kind of tactics. I used to subscribe to emusic but they stopped it! GoMusicNow is also a alternative but once again not much to choose from!! So for me i have no alternative but to look at file sharing and i blame the music industry for this.
4:32 pm
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Is there a way to buy music online at say beatport etc. with a debit card or eft? I can’t seem to find any such S.A sites..
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