With the proliferation of iPhones, iPod Touches and more and more people using iTunes, I am regularly asked how I manage to get all the album artwork for all my music as well as being able purchase music and other content not available in the South African iTunes store. The simple answer is that you need an account in one of the iTunes stores outside of South Africa.

Apple closed quite a few loopholes that one used to be able exploit to achieve this, but fortunately there is still a way. I’ve taken bits and pieces from other websites and blogs and a little of my own experience with doing this and put together a step by step guide to get you to iTunes goodness.

  1. Fire up iTunes and click on the “iTunes Store” icon in the sidebar.
  2. Scroll right to the bottom of the page and click “Change Country”.
    3. Change Country

    Change Country

  3. On the next page, scroll to the bottom and select “United Kingdon”.
    4. United Kingdom

    United Kingdom

  4. Now go into the App Store and find a free app and “buy” it. Any app will do, as long as it is free. There are loads.
  5. The following screen will pop up. Click on the “Create New Account” button.
    6. Create Account

    Create Account

  6. On the next few pages you will need to agree to some terms and conditions and then fill in all your details. When it comes to the address, the only important thing is a valid postal code. Fill in a valid UK postal code that you know or get one from here: http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/.
  7. The last page you will be presented with will be the payment page. On this page select the “None” option.

    8. Payment method = None

    Payment method = None

You’re done creating your account. You may now go forth and make use of Genius, download artwork and purchase anything that is free in the music or app store.

If you’d like to buy content that has a price attached to it, all you need to do is redeem an iTunes voucher. You can purchase UK iTunes store vouchers from gamepointsnow.com. I’ve used them a number of times for Xbox live vouchers and iTunes vouchers. Very reliable and I have never had an issue. They make use of either Paypal or Google Checkout which both work with a South African credit card. You pay a small premium for buying from them, but it’s the simplest solution I’ve found so far.

Your voucher arrives via email within seconds and then you just click on the “Redeem Voucher” link in the iTunes store.

Right. You’re set. Time to starting fully enjoying the iTunes experience.

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