SOFTWARE - MUSIC - 28.03.2013

Sharing music in iTunes or Windows Media Player

iTunes

iTunes (http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes) lets you share music with other computers and mobile devices (from version 10.2 onwards). This means that you can stream songs from one computer (e.g. in your office or living room) to another device (e.g. in your office or kitchen). The function for making your iTunes library available on other devices is called Home Sharing. This is activated via the Archive; Home Sharing menu (iTunes 10: via Advanced). On the screen that appears, you will have to enter your Apple-ID and password. Now click on Configure Home Sharing and finish by clicking on Done. This function was originally developed for sharing music over a home network. However, if your practice or shop floor are connected to the same network, you can, in principle, make use of this option to share your music.

Note. Home Sharing is limited to up to five devices, which should all have the same Apple-ID. This means that you can’t share your iTunes library with a colleague’s laptop, even if they make use of your network.

Tip. Don’t forget to activate the Home Sharing function on every computer you want to involve.

As soon as Home Sharing has been activated on all your devices, you will see the library of the other computers at the top left in iTunes, or via the Library pop-up list in Home Sharing.

Note. It may take a while before these libraries appear. Do you also want to share your music library with your iPhone or iPad in the same network? Go to Settings; Music on these devices and enter your Apple-ID and password in the Home Sharing section. Next, click on the Music icon on your mobile device and select More at the bottom; click on Shared and choose the desired library from the list.

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-media-player), also lets you share music libraries. How this is to be done depends on the version of WMP you run. In version 11, click on the arrow below the Media Library and select Share Media. Next, choose Share my Media with... and confirm the devices which are found in the network.

Note. Chances are you won’t be able to select this option. This is the case when Windows interprets your home network as a public network. In this case, click on the Network button. In the new menu, click on the Customise optionbeside the name of the network concerned. Now click on Private, then on Next and finally on Close.

Note. If you use another version of WMP, you can find plenty of manuals on how to stream your music by searching via Google.

From the moment you’ve configured all the other computers in your network as described above, you will find the shared libraries on the left side of the WMP screen.

Think of the rules!

Don’t forget that if you want to play music in public spaces, e.g. in your shop or your waiting room, you will have to abide by the relevant author’s rights legislation.