How to use Spotify, iTunes Radio, Pandora and Beats Music in Russia

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-09 15:40

In recent years, streaming music services have overtaken the classic content buying model in popularity and have become a new stage in the development of digital music distribution. Traditionally, the most delicious piece of the pie goes to Western users, because neither Spotify, nor Pandora, nor Beats Music are available in Russia and the CIS countries. However, if you really want to, then all these services can be easily listened to with us. How to do this, I'll tell you now.

We are faced with only two difficulties: the lack of client applications required for comfortable listening on the iPhone and Mac, as well as regional restrictions on the operation in certain countries. Both can be easily solved.

Applications

Clients of Spotify, Pandora and other services are not available in the Russian App Store due to the fact that the services themselves do not work with us. So to download applications, you will need to have an American Apple ID. This procedure is quite simple and is described in detail in this manual. You can register from both an iOS device and a Mac.

We register, download the required application and move on to the next item.

If you only need iTunes Radio, then you can skip reading, it will work as soon as you log into your US Apple ID.

Regional restrictions

Now that we have an application, for example Spotify, we open it, try to create an account and receive a warning that the service is not yet available in our country. Fortunately, this is easy to fix with a VPN. There are a huge number of services and applications that are created to ensure your anonymity on the Web. However, due to the fact that they work through servers located in various countries around the world, we can use them to "pretend" to be Americans and gain access to music services that are not working in our country. For all the seeming cleverness of VPN, there is nothing difficult. Here we have two options: using applications from VPN services and manual configuration.

Applications

All popular services have their own applications for different platforms, which further simplifies the process. There are a lot of them, but the friendliest and most widespread VPN service is Tunnel Bear, which has apps for iOS and OS X, as well as flexible terms - 500 megabytes of traffic per month, which can be increased to two gigabytes with a simple tweet.

Download the app and follow the instructions in the starter guide. It is difficult to get confused there, just agree with everything and click "next". After that, flip the switch and voila - you are already on the other side of the planet, somewhere in the USA.

Manual setting

Do not be intimidated by the word "manual", there is nothing difficult in this type of setting either. There are a lot of services, for our needs you can use, for example, Portaller. The good thing about it is that it works without any restrictions and is completely free. In addition, Portaller is specially tailored for streaming services with regional restrictions and only passes their traffic through the VPN, without affecting your other network activity. What's more, in addition to music Spotify, Rdio, and Pandora, Portaller also lets you use Netflix and Amazon Video video services.

Setting up Portaller took a couple of minutes of time, detailed instructions for all devices, including game consoles and routers, are available on the service website, but we will consider setting up for Mac and iPhone.

Setting up Portaller on Mac

1. Open the network settings.

   

2. Select our network and click the advanced settings button.

   

3. Switch to the DNS tab, add the following addresses: 107.170.15.247 and 77.88.8.8.

   

4. We reconnect to our network for the changes to take effect.

Setting up Portaller on iPhone and iPad

1. Open the settings, go to the Wi-Fi section and press the "i" button.

   

2. In the DNS line, erase the existing address and enter the familiar ones separated by commas 107.170.15.247 and 77.88.8.8.

   

3. We reconnect to the network to apply the changes.

How to use

Further use depends on the service you choose. Some of them check the country only when registering, while others every time you start and listen to tracks.

For example, in the case of Spotify, you only need to connect via VPN the first time you start it, then you can go through regular networks. About once a month, the application will swear that you "travel too much", but once you restart with the VPN turned on, everything will return to normal. Beats Music behaves in the same way. That is, using these services, Tunnel Bear will be enough for you on a free basis.

Other services, such as Pandora, operate exclusively via VPN, so the 500 megabytes that Tunnel Bear gives you will definitely not be enough for you. You can get by with monthly tweets that add 1.5 gigabytes of traffic, but this is only if the music is not included in your background for days. Otherwise, it's better to set up Portaller or use a paid VPN.

Outcomes

Personally, I chose Spotify for myself, a very convenient and suitable service for me, which is quite functional even without a subscription. As for the security of data sent through a VPN, then, I think, in our case, there is nothing to worry about, because we are listening to music, and not hiding from the special services. If you need a VPN for anonymity on the network, of course, it makes sense to take care of a paid solution with support for encryption and additional protection. But that's a completely different story.