Hi, I've set up for me to pay for the family subscription and have attached everyone in my family group. We've decided that my wife takes over paying for it from her apple id, not quite sure how this is going to work - I've stopped the auto-renew on my apple id, and I've started getting email reminders that the subscription is running out, but on my wife's apple id it doesn't give her the option to start one. Basically I'm trying to avoid some nightmare-ish scenario where everyone loses their playlists!
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Apple music family subscription (can I change who pays?)
- Thread starter swanseaboy
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The best way to proceed in my opinion, is to contact Apple, and have the purchases that are recorded under YOUR AppleID, transferred to your wife's AppleID account.
Good luck with that, as Apple will likely tell you that they cannot do that.
You CAN change the method of payment for purchases/subscription, such as changing the credit card used for payment, but you would still maintain the same AppleID account as the primary one.
Apple's AppleID is, in some ways, quite inflexible. Ownership of purchased music, etc, is one of those areas.
But, you will get your answer from AppleID support. Tell them what you want to do, and I expect you will get a quick answer. Perhaps the policy has changed recently... Good Luck!
Good luck with that, as Apple will likely tell you that they cannot do that.
You CAN change the method of payment for purchases/subscription, such as changing the credit card used for payment, but you would still maintain the same AppleID account as the primary one.
Apple's AppleID is, in some ways, quite inflexible. Ownership of purchased music, etc, is one of those areas.
But, you will get your answer from AppleID support. Tell them what you want to do, and I expect you will get a quick answer. Perhaps the policy has changed recently... Good Luck!
The Apple Music Family Membership is based on the Family Sharing feature. The 'head of the family' (forgive the archaic language), which Apple calls the Family Organiser, is billed for the family Apple Music subscription.
So to change who pays for your family subscription, you need to change who the family organiser is. Note, this will mean that your wife would then end up paying not just for everyone's Apple Music, but also all their purchases in the App Store and iTunes Store (I assume, presently, you pay for that stuff).
If you still want to go ahead, to change who the family organiser is, you must disband your family group by going to Settings > iCloud > Family, tap your name as the organiser, then tap Stop Family Sharing. Full instructions are here.
All the content on each family member's device will stay as it is - it just will no longer share. For example, if your wife shared a calendar with you via family sharing, it would still be on her phone, but you would no longer see it.
Then, your wife can re-create a family group and re-subscribe to Apple Music.
The downside, as @DeltaMac said, is that your purchased content, e.g. apps and music, will be tied to your personal Apple ID, and will have to be re-purchased under your wife's Apple ID. But if you have little or no paid apps or other content, this might not be an issue.
There is almost zero chance of getting Apple to transfer purchases from your Apple ID to your wife's, unfortunately.
EDIT: A far easier, though imperfect, solution: change your billing information on your (i.e. the family organiser's) Apple ID to your wife's credit/debit card. Then she will pay for the subscription whilst everything else stays intact.
So to change who pays for your family subscription, you need to change who the family organiser is. Note, this will mean that your wife would then end up paying not just for everyone's Apple Music, but also all their purchases in the App Store and iTunes Store (I assume, presently, you pay for that stuff).
If you still want to go ahead, to change who the family organiser is, you must disband your family group by going to Settings > iCloud > Family, tap your name as the organiser, then tap Stop Family Sharing. Full instructions are here.
All the content on each family member's device will stay as it is - it just will no longer share. For example, if your wife shared a calendar with you via family sharing, it would still be on her phone, but you would no longer see it.
Then, your wife can re-create a family group and re-subscribe to Apple Music.
The downside, as @DeltaMac said, is that your purchased content, e.g. apps and music, will be tied to your personal Apple ID, and will have to be re-purchased under your wife's Apple ID. But if you have little or no paid apps or other content, this might not be an issue.
There is almost zero chance of getting Apple to transfer purchases from your Apple ID to your wife's, unfortunately.
EDIT: A far easier, though imperfect, solution: change your billing information on your (i.e. the family organiser's) Apple ID to your wife's credit/debit card. Then she will pay for the subscription whilst everything else stays intact.
Last edited:
Just to update everyone...my Apple Music subscription expired on the 20th. The next day my wife started a new family subscription, and even though she is not the Family Sharing organiser, the whole family now have access to Apple Music. All playlists etc were retained. Thanks everyone 