Can You Export iMovie As MP3?

iMovie is a surprisingly helpful and powerful little app that can handle nearly any task a hobbyist or beginner filmmaker can throw at it.  But many of us have, at some point, had a video clip where we just wanted to extract the audio from it and wondered if it’s possible to export an iMovie file as an MP3.  Fortunately, there are a few options to do exactly that.

Within iMovie, you can export a project as an “audio only” file, allowing you to pick between AAC, MP3, AIFF, and WAV audio formats.  Alternatively, you can use QuickTime Player to export the video to an M4A audio file and then use Apple Music to convert that file to MP3. 

There was a time when exporting an iMovie project as an MP3 was a little trickier, simply because Apple and the MP3 license didn’t always play along nicely.  However, there is a nifty export function in iMovie.  Unfortunately, it’s just a little tricky to find. 

How To Export An iMovie Project As An MP3

Before jumping into the how-to section, it is perhaps worth stating that exporting your video project to an MP3 means that you will extract only the audio.  Unlike MP4, a container file format, MP3 is strictly an audio compression file format. 

But there are several reasons why people may want to extract the audio only.  For example, it could be a music video, and you simply want to keep the audio track.  Or it could be a video you took of a concert.  Or it could even be a sound effect within another video you want to extract and use. 

Step 1:  Update And Launch iMovie

If you use iMovie regularly, chances are that the app is up to date, and you can skip the download time and just jump straight in.  However, suppose it has been a few years since you launched it.  In that case, Apple will likely have released updates and force you to download and install those updates before you can use the app. 

Step 2: Create A New Project And Import The Video File

Once you launch iMovie, you will be greeted with a blank page and a big plus sign that says “Create new.”  If you use iMovie regularly, this page will be filled with your current projects.  So, create a new project instead of opening one you are working on.

With a new project created, you have two options for the imported video.   The first option is to click on the down arrow that says “Import Media,” then find the file and double-click on it.  Alternatively, you have to option to “drag and drop” the file into iMovie to begin the import. 

Step 3:  Export The File As “Audio Only”

The next step is to export the project as an audio-only file.   Start by clicking on the file icon in the far top right-hand corner of the iMovie window. 

When you click on that icon, a sub-window will open, giving you various export options such as email, iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, etc.  Right at the bottom of the window is an icon that looks like a movie reel and says “File.”  You want to click on this option. 

Once you’ve selected the “File” option, a new window will pop up where you can name the file and choose the file format.  Click the drop-down list next to “Format” and then select the option that says “Audio Only.”

After that, click to open the drop-down list next to “File Format” and select the audio format you want.  In this case, it would be “MP3.”

Then click “Next,” and you can pick your file name and save the file in your chosen location.  Then click “Save,” and the export process will begin. 

Can You Export Just A Piece Of The Audio?

But what if you don’t want to export the whole video to audio?  It could be that there is just a piece of the file you need, in which case you can either export just that clip or edit the MP3 after being exported. 

Option 1:  Use QuickTime To Trim The MP3

One of the options for just grabbing a piece of the audio file is to complete the export process above, right-click on the exported MP3 file, click on “Open With,” and then select “QuickTime Player.”

With the song now opened in QuickTime, go to the menu bar and select “Edit” and then “Trim.”  With the trim function open, you can now use the sliders to choose the portion of the song you want and then save the file. 

Option 2:  Trim The File Before Exporting It

The second option is to simply trim the file in iMovie before exporting it as an MP3.  To do this, import the video into iMovie using steps 1 and 2 above.   Then you have a few options to trim the clip. 

The first option is to click on the edges of the clip and then drag them inward so that you are left with only the section of the video clip that you want to export to audio. 

Another option is to click on the point where the audio begins and then right-click and select “Trim To Play Head.”  This will trim the clip up to that point.  You then just repeat it at the end of the clip. 

The last option is to split the clip.  In the same way as above, move the cursor to the point where the audio clip starts, then right-click and select “Split Clip,” which will then break the clip into two at the point where you selected.  Do the same for the end point of the track, after which you should be left with 3 clips. 

Then you simply delete the pieces you don’t want and continue to the exporting step. 

The great part of the Split Clip option is that you can remove sections of the video you don’t want the audio for.  For example, imagine that you recorded a song at a concert, and halfway through, the person next to you shouted so loud they nearly ruined your recording. 

Well, using the Split Clip function, you can isolate that point and just delete it before exporting the video as an MP3.

Alternative Option: Use QuickTime To Export Only The Audio

Another alternative option on a Mac is to use QuickTime instead of iMovie.  To do this, simply right-click on the video file and then select “Open With,” and then click on “QuickTime Player.”

With the video open in QuickTime, click on “File,” then scroll down to “Export As” and select “Audio Only.”  Then just choose the file location, name it, and save it.  QuickTime Player will then export your video to an M4A audio file.

The next few steps can seem tricky at first, but once you have it set up, converting songs to MP3 will be really simple. 

Firstly, open the Apple Music application.  Then on the menu bar, click on “Music,” scroll down and click on “Preferences.”  Then in the pop-up window, click on “Files,” and at the bottom of the window, you will see a button called “Import Settings.”  Click on that button, and another window will appear. 

At the top of this window is the “Import Using” option.  Click on that and select “MP3 Encoder” from the list.  Make sure you select “Higher Quality” from the setting and then click on “OK” to close the pop-up menus. 

Now Apple Music will have the ability to convert a song to MP3.  So, open the M4A file in apple music, then, with the song selected, click on “File” and “Export,” and then select “Create MP3 Version.” 

Pause icon multimedia entertainment perforated paper

Conclusion

You can definitely export to an MP3 from iMovie by simply exporting the video project as an “Audio Only” file and then selecting MP3 as the audio format.  Alternatively, you can use QuickTime to export the video to an M4A audio file and then use Apple Music to convert the M4A file to an MP3.

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