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How to Gift Music and Movies from the iTunes Store

Introduction to Giving Music and Movies at iTunes Store

While most of us do our shopping in iTunes for ourselves, music and movies from the iTunes Store make great gifts for iPod and iPhone owners – and the iTunes Store makes it easy to give gifts. This is especially great for birthdays and holidays, or just when you want to share your favorite album or TV episode with a friend of loved one.

Through the iTunes Store, you can give:
  • Music (songs and albums)
  • Movies (standard definition and HD)
  • TV (full seasons and single episodes)
  • Apps
  • Audiobooks

While not every item in these categories can be gifted, most can. To give one of these items as a gift, first simply search for or browse to the content you want to give.

Choose "Gift This" Option

When you've found the item you want to give as a gift, look for the image of the item in the top left. Beneath it, there's a button with the item's price on it and a second, smaller button next to that with a down arrow on it. Click the down arrow button. In the menu that pops up, choose Gift This Album/Movie/Book, etc.

Sign Into iTunes Account

If you're not already signed in, you'll be asked to sign in to your iTunes account (you must have one in order to give gifts). You'll pay for the gift using the payment method on file in your iTunes account.

Next you'll be taken to a screen where you can fill in the name and email address of the person you're giving the gift to, as well as a personal message. A few important notes about this step:
  • You're charged for every email address you include in the email address line. So, if you're giving a $9.99 album to three people (three email addresses in that line), you'll be charged $29.97. Sorry, no way to pay once and give three gifts!
  • Gifts can only be redeemed at the iTunes Store they're given from. So, if you're in the U.S., the only people who can redeem the gifts you send are those with access to the U.S. iTunes Store. Friends in the U.K., for instance, won't be able to download what you send them. If you want to give them gifts through iTunes, you'd need access to the U.K. iTunes Store.
  • Each recipient will need an iTunes account to redeem the gift. They don't necessarily need an account before you send the gift, but they'll need to set one up before they're able to download the gift.
  • You can choose to send the gift right away or on a specific date. To send right now, find the Send Gift section on the right and click Now. To send on a later date, click Other Date and select the date you want the gift to be sent. You can buy up to 90 days ahead of time.

When you're ready, click Next.

Next, you'll get to select the design, or theme, used for the email sent to the recipient letting them know about the gift. Click on each theme to get a preview of it.

When you have the one you want, click Next.

Review the gift--the names and email addresses of recipients, what you're buying, the note, etc. When everything is correct and you're ready to send it, click Buy Gift. This will charge your iTunes account and make happy people out of your gift recipients.
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