Exporting iTunes tracks as MP3

This is a similar query to that in thread 1015795, and is very simple:
Can I copy a track I've bought from the iTunes store to MP3 format?
Why do I want to do this? Because I've got a MP3 player I want to play it on, and I will not spend 3 figures on an iPod because I don't fancy being mugged either by Apple or some jerk on the street who sees me using it. I'm using iTunes for Windows at the mo, and it won't allow me to convert any iTunes tracks to MP3.
If the answer to the question is yes, then I'd be grateful if someone could let me know, and copy the message to [email protected] If the answer is no, then I'll never buy another iTunes track. TIA.
Fred
PS: I've always liked Macs as technically-superior and user-friendly machines and currently have a Macbook, but I've always hated Apple's proprietary instincts, and I've a feeling that this whole iTunes thing is a way to force punters into buying iPods, which in truth are little more than fancy flash drives with DACs and a mini-jack and certainly not worth £150 ;-\

Ok, thanks for that reply - I'd not realised that the DRM was so inflexible. Luckily I've only bought a few iTunes tracks and I suppose I can burn them to CD to listen to on my fixed kit at home and work, but it's a pain not being able to put them onto a portable MP3 player. I'll make sure not to buy any more tracks in the future - I prefer CDs anyway.
When it comes to record companies, DRM, and copying, the phrase "******* in the wind" always comes to mind...
Cheers
Fred

Similar Messages

Export Itunes music to MP3

Is it possible to export Itunes music to MP3 files? If so, what is the process to do this from Itunes. Thanks.
Mufutau

I thought that was for importing?
It's not just for importing. The import setting controls the format available for the convert option. Once converted, move the MP3 files as needed; their location can be found by right-clicking them.
(52843)

Why can't i export my track in mp3 format in the latest garageband

it seems so fundamental that having created a great track in garageband it should be easy to export it in mp3 format but the new version doesn't think it worthwhile to make it that easy.........after contacting apple support i was told to install some kind of file converter to get over this problem but it shouldn't be a problem in the first place.......as i say.....its basic and fundamental...............i managed to find a way round it by dropping my song into ITunes and converting from there but its such a convoluted way of doing such a simple operation............has anyone else found this problem.........has anyone found a way of exporting in mp3 thats easier than going through ITunes ?

They dropped this feature.

How to export itunes library to mp3 (names & folders intact)

Hi,
I cant seem to find a solution to my problem. A family member has her music all stored on iTunes, however she now needs it taken off her old laptop. She is wanting it converted to mp3, is this possible?
I read I can select the tracks and export to mp3...but I would like to keep the track names and folder names intact. Basically, I would like an exact copy, but as mp3?
Is this possible? Even if I need software, I dont mind...hope I explained that well enough.
Thanks in advance, Im a total itunes noob.

There are two slightly different questions in there...
Moving an iTunes library to a new computer
These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
Method 1
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
Method 2
Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
I'd recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library.
Note if you have failed to move contacts and calendar items across you should create one dummy entry of each in your new profile and iTunes should merge the existing data from the device.
If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See make a split library portable.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library or a backup then then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
Converting media to mp3
Generally you don't need to convert media files to a different format but if you plan to use an mp3 only player then it may be necessary. Converting from one lossy format to another will lose a bit of fidelity. You should only convert files of a different format, and there is no point converting to a higher bit rate, so it may make sense to use a smart playlist to select specific files to target for conversion together, e.g. 256k aac files to be converted to 256k mp3. The new files will have the same filenames (will a different extension) and be stored in the same folders as the originals, and the library will contain duplicate copies of each track. If you want to permanently swap formats and replace the originals then my script ConvertFormat should do the trick.
tt2

Exporting iTunes tracks so WMP can read them...

Hi
I've just got a new car which has a USB input that recognises Windows Media Player files (.mp3, .mpa, .wav, .m3u, .wpl) but apparently won't recognise my Mac iTunes files - obviously .aac and .mp4.
is there ANY way of getting my substantial iTunes library or at least a few playlists on to a USB stick in a format that will be recognised by this system from my MAC. I do have virtual PC but again - wouldn't that involve importing unreadable Mac versions and so, not work either?
Or is it just back to FM transmitter again???
Thanks for any help!

You would have to convert the AAC files to a compatible format in iTunes to use in the car. When it comes to the protected purchases (,m4p), the only thing you can do is burn them to an audio CD. The protection prevents a direct format change.

I am having trouble bouncing and creating an aiff file that plays back. I've checked my output settings, and although I am able to create MP3s, the aiffs are blank. The happens when I try to export a track as an aiff file - it's blank.

I am having trouble bouncing and creating an aiff file that plays back. I've checked my output settings which appear to be correct. Although I am able to create MP3s, the aiffs are blank. The happens when I try to export a track as an aiff file - it's blank.

When bouncing, do you use the Key Command or the button on the Output Channel Strip? The Key Command only bounces from the Stereo Output. The bounce button bounces from the Channel Strip it is on. So if you want to bounce out outputs 3-4 or higher, don't use the key command, but the button.
The strange thing here is that Logic, when it bounces an MP3, first bounces an AIFF, which at the end of the bounce process is being converted to MP3, so I can't imagine how you can get a silent AIFF and a normal MP3.
How have you listened to those bounces? iTunes? Quicklook? Quicktime?

Itunes slow switching tracks on mp3 but not on m4a files?

Itunes is slow (1 minute) switching tracks on mp3 files but not on m4a files. I can't figure out why. My music files are on a network (NAS) drive. When I change tracks between m4a files, I get quick changes between songs (couple seconds). When I change songs on mp3 files, I notice the network spikes usually in 3-4 spikes over about a minute, and then the song starts. Itunes is hanging during that time. If I start a file from the local machine desktop, I see the same spikes. The computer was freshly reinstalled this week, so new itunes install. Also tried reinstalling. I have a second computer on the same network that I tried to duplicate the problem, and that computer works fine on mp3 and m4a song changes. Uses same version of Itunes 10. Both machines are XP service pack three and a good amout of RAM and run fine with all other programs, so no virus, etc.

I am having the exact same problem. It's maddening. It's happening to all of my computers (all Windows 7) and my Apple TV (using Library sharing). My whole iTunes library is stored on a Buffalo terastation NAS drive. It's been this way for years and I've never had a problem. Until you mentioned it, I never noticed that is was an MP3 vs AAC thing.

Exporting itunes mp3 converted music to sdhc card

Does anyone know how to do this (exporting itunes mp3 converted music to sdhc card) ? I want to play some of the music in a car stereo. Detailed help would be appreciated. Thanks much Ideally want to have music in playlist type format on CD card.

any old music that has the protection on it will not transfer. nothing you can do but move forward... apple was forced to remove the protection and thats why new music will transfer

Converting iTunes (m4a) to mp3 or wav

I have a fairly extensive iTunes library which I sync with my iPod Nano 2. My daughter has just been given an mp3 player for her birthday and I'm trying to find a simple way of exporting & converting tracks for her to either mp3 or WAV format without losing my m4a. Any ideas short of burning original to CD then re-importing under her account (where import of CD's is set to mp3)?
I have managed to open an iTunes track as m4a within Quicktime and save as a wav file, but the file size went from 2.6 MB to 11.7 MB - not very practical.
Cheers, Andy
Message was edited by: Andy Faizey

If the file is an .m4p then it is DRM protected and you can only burn is as an audio CD - you can figure out the rest.
If the file is a .m4a - no DRM - then you should be able to convert it to an mp3 within iTunes. Change your iTunes import options prefs.
MJ

ITunes and generic MP3 players?

Is there a utility that can take an exported iTunes playlist (XML) and copy all the files referenced therein to a folder on my computer (or direct to my generic MP3 player)?
All my tracks are MP3 so I have no DRM / m4p issues.
iTunes can burn a data CD / DVD that can then be copied manually, but that's really quite time consuming when the ultimate destination is a flash drive.

Don't bother with the XML file. Open the playlist in iTunes, Edit > Select All, and drag them to the folder where you want the copies to be.

Exporting itunes to other sources - Bose lifestyle

Has anyone tried to export iTunes downloaded songs to a Bose lifestyle system? How can you do it?

You will not be able to listen to iTunes purchases on your Lifestyle as you cannot authorize the hardware.
You can play your iTunes library from your Mac and plug it into the appropriate input jack on the Lifestyle. You can d/l the owners manual from the Bose.com site.
From the Lifestyle 38 Series Note: Your system is designed to store the tracks of regular CDs only. It will not store MP3 tracks or the contents of DVDs. If an inappropriate disc type is in the disc tray when the Store button is pressed, the media center displays an error message to indicate that storage is not possible.
I opted to go with a TV and interface that to my Denon AV receiver and my Acoustimass 10 speakers.
MJ

Getting tired of iTunes deleting my mp3s...on its own.

I have been an iTunes user for the longest time. However, as my music library grows (17,500 songs/128gb) so does iTunes' ability to keep track of all of it.
Usually, a few times a week I will notice after starting up iTunes, my library shrunk, in the size of usually an album (or about 80mb). I know whats happened, but I just can't fix it as I have a larger library, it would take hours to checklist everything from memory. iTunes has removed an album or two or three, sometimes even an entire artist's discography from the library and in about half the cases, entirely from the hard drive (a WD MyBook 500gb external).
Just this morning, I wanted to listen to the album "Stupid Dream" by Porcupine Tree, alas, it was not there. However a few Porcupine Tree albums were still there. When I go into my music folder to see if iTunes made the brilliant desicion that I clearly did not need those pesky MP3 files to listen to my music, I also noticed three other PT albums were also missing.
Thankfully I found the mp3 files intact in my music folders, however iTunes no longer likes them and wont add them to the library anymore. While every other media player out there plays them with a smile on its face.
Now that iTunes discriminates between mp3 files, I used an mp3 converter (Switch Sound File Converter to be exact) to convert them into exactly the same bitrate, tag info, litterally to my knowlage a carbon copy of all the info iTunes would ever make use of...and OH!!! iTunes now accepts the files as an equal. (does not work by making a copy of the file and importing the copy)
Though this has been going on since last summer as memory serves me, it's becoming more common, almost a daily occurance and I'm getting tired of re-ripping/downloading/converting/deleted file recovery files every time iTunes decides it knows whats best for my listening pleasure.
Things I notice:
-Never deletes a single song, only albums and/or entire artist discographys.
-Doesn't matter what genre, iTunes may discriminate against mp3s that are exactly alike, but it takes a "seperate but equal" stance between my Progressive Rock and Brutal Death Metal.
-If it was something other than iTunes, wouldn't the files remain as missing in iTunes and just deleted from the hard drive? Moreso, why are they just being deleted from the library and not the hard drive in some cases?
-Doesn't matter the source of the music, deleted albums have been from CDs I have purchased and ripped using iTunes, Downloaded, transfered from another device. I have never purchased a single song from the iTunes store that is in my library.
If the files that are being deleted were purchased from iTunes only for Apple's infinite wisom to have them deleted, I would be most likely burning someone's house down instead of posting here.
Thank you for your time and thoughts and a solution may be rewarded with extravagant fruit baskets.
<Edited by Moderator>

Honestly, I think something else is the root cause of this. iTunes is too stupid to change tags within MP3s on its own, and clean up your library for you.
WMP can change tags on its own in the background. Make sure the options for getting info from the internet are not enabled on both the privacy and library tabs. Other media software like Zune will also do this. WMP doesn't delete stuff from your itunes library, though.
I've seen several posts from users that Uniblue Speed Up my PC seriously messes with itunes library & files. Sony Vaio Folder Content Watcher constantly deletes the itunes music libray, as well....lots of posts on here about that one.
Since I have no idea what all you have installed on your PC, my general advice is to look for ANYTHING besides itunes that touches your music files and temporarily disable it for a few weeks. It could also be malware doing this.
The suggestion to run your files through MP3 Validator is also a good one. iTunes 8 is real picky about MP3 headers and if you can't add files back into your library, the MP3 headers might be the cause. I have all mine set for v2.3
http://www.gromkov.com/faq/repair/mp3_validator.html
Message was edited by: Katrina S.

Itunes exclamations moved mp3 files to new hard drive

hi
i recently bought a new computer (quad) and the new hardive is big enough to put all my mp3s onto one hardrive. so i put all 80gigs worth into one folder called "mp3s" and then i have sub folders to categorize them as latin etc...obviously itunes will display ! on every song now that they arent in their original location...so i went to advanced tab and made the "mp3s" folder the default music folder and assumed itunes would be smart enough to reestablish links to every song in my playlists...but no!!!...i tried one posts suggestions which worked the best (creating xml file etc)..but most all of the songs in my playlists still didnt show up...and every song in playlist is located in the "mp3s" folder so i assume it couldnt handle 80gigs worth of songs?
my complaint with itunes is i use to use some mp3 player on OS 9 that was smart enough to reestablish links to multiple playlists by simply selecting one song in the playlist and selecting the new location of the file, then it would automatically see any other mp3 contained in any subfolders and reestablish links to it....simple...why cant itunes on OS X do this.
any help appreciated
thanks

after reading many posts on apple, talking to apple tech support and googling nothing solved my problem completely...however i figured out a way to get it to work for me
MY SCENARIO:
before i had two different drives with 20gigs of mp3s on each drive and itunes on another drive...my files are organized by genre not artist so having itunes oraganize my mp3s is a no go and i have alot of playlists that i spent alot of time organizing so i didnt want to loose them.....when i got my G5 i finally had enough room to put all mp3s in one MP3 folder and thats what i wanted to do.
STEPS I TOOK:
1. I exported every playlist in the itunes on my old computer by going to file/export song list. then saved as .xml file. heres a link to apples directions:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93763
2. I trashed all itunes prefs in user/home/library/preferences and all files in the user/home/music/itunes folder on my new computer...then i opened itunes and it goes thru standard steps and opens to an empty library.
3. I copied all my mp3s to my new computer and placed them into one folder called MP3's ( you can copy or move to any drive(s) or folder (s)you want)
4. then i went to itunes/file/add to library and selected the MP3s folder and itunes added every mp3 to the itunes library. (if you have mp3s on multiple drives simply continue to select the folders containing the mp3s and add them to the library)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301509
5. import the .xml song lists in step 1...as it imports some will import instantly, others you might see a progress bar as it searches...if some mp3 files in the playlist are missing it wont display them in the playlist.
6. all mp3s should now be in the library and all playlists connected to the songs no more exclamation points.
3. also afterwards or even in step 4 go to the advanced tab in the preferences and select the folder you want itunes to point to if you put all mp3s in one folder on one drive...make sure the "keep itunes folder organized" and "copy files to itunes music folder" are unchecked.
FINAL THOUGHTS
eventhough this wasnt that tough, this process could be made simplier by apple making itunes smart enough to locate broken linked files. i forget the name of an mp3 player i used on OS 9 but if i decided to move my mp3s to any other folder or hardrive, and reopen the mp3 app, it would show the files couldnt be found in the playlist, then when i clicked on one missing song the app was smart enough to scan that folder for any other mp3s in the apps playlists and automaticallly reconnect to them.
quad g5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

ITunes on XP; Mp3 Problems

Hello,
A few days ago I found my iTunes, for Windows XP, was refusing to play certain tracks. Not only that, but many songs were unlistenable to due to a massive scratching and glitching effect. Most of these tracks were mp3 files, many ripped a long time ago through Windows Media Player, but have worked perfectly well up until this point.
I tried playing the files individually through Media Player, and they all worked fine. I have approximately 2650 songs in my library, and have imported a few hundred new ones in the past week or so.
Does anyone know what could be the problem, and how I could resolve it?
Many thanks,
Rob.

See, it was strange because I'm quite sure I didn't update iTunes when this started happening. It wasn't until I started having problems that I went to Version 8. I suppose it is possible some of them are too old, though some are only a few months old.
I'm afraid I don't know if they're VBR or CBR; how do I check? Sorry for my noobiness.
I tried playing some in Quicktime player and they ran, but made no sounds. I'm not sure what this is a result of. Regardless, they play perfectly well in Windows Media Player.
I tried out the solution on that site, and the program recognized the problem. However, when I tried to repair the file it became unplayable in all my media players and iTunes refused to reimport it. I'm at a loss, and I'm not sure if I should be reattaching my iPod to my PC or not at this point.
Thanks for your answer, though

Can I export itunes files to windows media player?

itunes lets me import music tracks from my windows media player, but I can't seem to get itunes tracks to go the othe way, into my windows media player. I'd like to be able to do both, as sometimes I buy tracks online at MSN, and sometimes at itunes, and I like to keep em on both players if possible. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

OK, if you buy songs at MSN you have to burn them to audio MP3s and re-rip them as MP3s to your PC into iTunes. Then they will go on your iPod.
If you buy songs at Apple you have to burn them to audio MP3s and re-rip them as MP3s to your PC intop whatever MSN uses. Then they will go on your MP3 player.
These different digital rights management schemes don't make it easy on us honest folks.
To quote Otto, "inconvenient" and that's the mildest comment I can use.
I myself have it easy because I like indie label music and I use emusic, which is mp3 to start with.

Exporting iTunes tracks as MP3

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