I share an apple id with my family right now but I just got a MacBook Pro and want my own apple id. I don't want any music,etc to be lost for me or my family. How does this work?

Question

Thanks for any help with my apple id delima.

Answer 1

You can set up an iCloud account which makes the iCloud email address you choose the Apple ID and thus the login for it:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22283348#22283348
though I have to say I think it's more sensible if the ID is another address, both for security reasons (so people don't know what the login is) and as a contact address from Apple if the account were to stop working and they needed to contact you. So personally I would to to System Preferences, enter the GMail address which is an ID, and then choose a nerw @icloud.com address.
If she has her own iCloud account she will need either her own computer or her own user account on your Mac to be able to make use of it. You should note that under Apple's terms of use Apple IDs are only available to children of 13 and over.
As to purchasing apps, this is nothing to do with iCloud: it's iTunes, and the login can be different. So you can all sign into the same iTunes account but have different iCloud accounts. Or she can have her own iTunes account if she is of suitable age (credit card needed for purchasing apps).
If you have other children you should be aware that any one Mac or device can create only three iCloud accounts - this is tied to the serial number, not the user account, and once reached cannot be bypassed. You can of course sign into an iCloud account created on another device.