How to Download Music on iPad: 3 Easy Methods for 2026

Part 1. How Can I Download Music on iPad Using iTunes?

iTunes is the official Apple software for managing media on iOS devices. It allows you to sync your music library from your computer to your iPad. While effective, this process requires a computer and can sometimes be slow if you have a large library.

To download songs to your iPad manually using iTunes, follow these steps:

To download music to iPad you just simply need to either purchase the song from iTunes or you can get the copy from some external source. Getting the content from the internet is seamless. The problem arises when you have to manually arrange the stuff. Fortunately, Apple provides iCloud storage which makes it easy to sync the content between computer iTunes and your iPad. So you don’t have to worry about how to download songs on the iPad. But, with iCloud, you lose the power to choose. All the songs will be auto-synced. To overcome this, let us see how to download songs on the iPad manually (In short, you can download music to the iPad of your choice.

1. Connect your iPad: Use a USB cable to connect your iPad to your computer.
2. Open iTunes: Launch the iTunes application on your PC or Mac.
3. Select Your Music: Navigate to your Music library within iTunes and highlight the songs or albums you want on your iPad.
4. Sync to iPad: Find your iPad icon in the iTunes sidebar, then drag and drop the selected music onto it to begin the transfer.

Part 2: Download music on iPad without iTunes

Having a working understanding of how to download songs on iPad using iTunes, you must have noticed the problem with this method. iTunes does not allow you to download music from the outside source directly. It does but the process is not that smooth. Also, the process lags a bit if your system is not equipped with the latest instruments. To overcome such a nuisance there are other ways to download music to the iPad. One of the best app available in the market is Dr.Fone - Phone Manager (iOS) by Wondershare. Dr.Fone is one of the leading mobile specialist application that makes it easy for users to connect and transfer data from computer to iPad and vice versa. Here are some of the salient features of the Dr.Fone.

Dr.Fone - Phone Manager (iOS)

Transfer Music to iPhone/iPad/iPod without iTunes

• Transfer, manage, export/import your music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS, Apps, etc.
• Backup your music, photos, videos, contacts, SMS, Apps, etc. to computer and restore them easily.
• Transfer music, photos, videos, contacts, messages, etc from one smartphone to another.
• Transfer media files between iOS devices and iTunes.
• Fully compatible with the latest iOS 17 and all iPad models.

Available on: Windows Mac

Start Download

Start Download

3981454 people have downloaded it

Now let's see how to download music on iPad using Dr.Fone

Step 1: Download Dr.Fone and install it on your computer. Open Dr.Fone and click "Phone Manager".

Step 2: Connect your iPad to the computer. Once it's connected, it will show like below.

Step 3: Visit the Music tab. Then it will display all music on your iPad.

Step 4: Click on the Add button to Add File or Add Folder to import music to the iPad from the computer.

Alternatively, you can also transfer iTunes music to the iPad using Dr.Fone - Phone Manager (iOS). On the device connection window, click on Transfer iTunes Media to Device.

After that select Transfer option and Soon it will transfer files to iPad

Free Try Free Try

Part 3. Comparison of Music Download Methods for iPad

Choosing the right way to download music to your iPad depends on your needs. Here is a quick comparison of the methods discussed in this article:

Part 4: Top 5 Apps to download music on iPad

There are other options available in the market and should you feel like exploring the ocean then you can start with these top 5 apps to download music on iPad.

1. iMusic

It is a freeware software that allows you to download video and music from various websites. It makes it handy to access all your music in one place and listen to it using the same app. What’s more, it acts as a great interface to transfer your favorite music to the iPad.

2. Spotify music: By far, the most famous app among the user. Spotify has been taking over the world with music obsessions. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, and personalized music list, users find the app extremely entertaining. The app lets you listen to an endless number of songs and create your playlist. The app can be used on an iPad without any problem. With just a few amounts you can subscribe to its premium feature which provides several advantages including the ability to download music to the iPad and carry the music offline.

3. SoundCloud Downloader Pro: Soundcloud has one of the largest respiratory of music. It indexes music both from celebrities as well as from rising stars. If you have a knack for music then you can also upload your songs. As far as the music download is concerned the pro version of Soundcloud allows you to keep the music offline for as long as you wish. Further, its large database ensures that get exposure to various genre of songs.

4. Beats Music: Beats music is one of the rising stars in the music streaming app. With a music file base of over 20 million, the beats music lets its user download the music to the iPad without any difficulty. The app lets you enjoy music from all kinds of genres. The interface has an interesting concept and can be fun for users who want to try a new and interesting interface.

5. iDownloader: Your all-in-one downloader for iOS devices. iDownloader provides a full fletched feature. It not only acts as a downloader, but it also acts as a music player, video player, photo viewer, and many more. It provides a single suite of tools to manage all of your multimedia files in a single go. The app is free to use and it allows you to download music to the iPad free of cost.

Frequently Asked Questions