27. Redeem Gift Music, a Gift Certificate, or an iTunes Music Card  Before You Begin
|  See Also
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 Sign Up for the iTunes Music Store
|  Give Gift Music to Someone Else
| | |  Tell a Friend About an Album in the iTunes Music Store
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If you're the lucky recipient of a gift certificate from a user of the iTunes Music Store, you can redeem it using a couple of quick steps. Just go to the iTunes Music Store, click Gift Certificates, and follow the redemption instructions; after this you'll have a bank of credit with which to buy free songs. You can redeem a prepaid iTunes Music Card, which you might have been given as a gift, in a similar fashion. Just go to the iTunes Music Store home page, click iTunes Music Cards (in the Account box), and enter the 16-digit code on the back of your prepaid card. You're then given store credit in the amount on the face of the card. Gift Music, because it allows users to send you specific pieces of music or videos, doesn't work quite the same way as gift certificates or prepaid iTunes Music Cards. When you receive a 12-digit redemption code in an email or on a printed sheet, you go to the iTunes Music Store home page and click Redeem (in the Account box). The music that you were gifted is downloaded straight to your iTunes Library. This task describes the process of redeeming a gift certificate. Note If you received a gift certificate or gift music over email, it contains a link that leads you to the proper place in the iTunes Music Store to redeem the certificate's value. Check your Junk Mail or Spam folders to make sure that a gift certificate that someone sent you didn't get dumped in there by mistake!
 Redeem Gift Music, a Gift Certificate, or an iTunes Music Card
 Sign In to the iTunes Music Store
Choose Music Store from the Source pane in the iTunes window and connect to the store. If you are not already signed in, click the Sign In button in the upper-right corner and provide your Apple ID (or AOL screen name) and password to sign yourself in. If you don't have an account with the iTunes Music Store yet, now's the time to create onerefer to Sign Up for the iTunes Music Store for more information. (Although you're given the opportunity to create an account in Step 3 of these instructions after you enter the confirmation number, you might as well get the account-creation process out of the way now.)  Go to the Gift Certificates Section
Click the Gift Certificates link in the Account box on the Music Store's home page. You are given a choice to redeem a certificate that was sent to you or to buy a new one; click Redeem.  Enter the Gift Certificate Code or Number
Type in the code number printed on your gift certificate, whether you received it on paper or through email. (This number might be called the Certificate Code or Certificate Number.) It's a combination of letters and numbers 16 characters long. The number is case-insensitive; you don't need to worry about capitalization.  Redeem the Certificate
Click Redeem. If you entered the number correctly, you're given a confirmation dialog box informing you that you're about to credit your account. Click Redeem Gift Certificate to proceed. (If you made a typo, a red warning message asks you to try entering the number again.) Note There is no identity authentication encoded into the gift certificate; its value is applied to the account of whoever receives and enters the code.
 Buy Music Using Credit
A new box appears next to your Apple ID in the upper-right corner of the iTunes window; this box shows the amount of store credit you have. As you shop and buy music (see  Purchase a Song, Album, Video, or Audiobook from the iTunes Music Store), that number (instead of your credit card or PayPal) is debited until you've reduced it to zero, at which point it disappears and you're back to buying music under your own steam. It was fun while it lasted!
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