Why Can I Not Convert Apple Music To MP3?

While streaming on Apple Music is convenient, there are times when one might want to play songs directly from a computer or mobile device. This is a straightforward process, but people often encounter challenges when attempting to convert Apple Music to MP3.

Audio files on the Apple Music streaming service have digital rights management (DRM) encryption, so you cannot legally convert them to MP3. The best way to have MP3 versions of your desired Apple Music tracks is to purchase the songs or albums on the iTunes Store and convert the files manually.

Have you tried to convert Apple Music audio files to MP3 format and wondered why it did not work? If so, the following insights will help illuminate why Apple Music won’t convert to MP3 or other popular audio compression codecs.

Obstacles To Converting Apple Music to MP3

Streaming from the Apple Music library of more than 100 million songs is quick, easy, and saves storage space.

Having said this, you might want to enjoy the music offline. In this case, it is necessary to download songs from Apple Music.

Subscribers can listen to the tracks they download from Apple Music at their leisure. They cannot, however, convert the music into an MP3 file format.

The reason for this limitation is that the downloaded song files are encoded with digital rights management (DRM) protection. This technology prevents users from copying or converting the files into a different codec, such as MP3.

If there are specific songs on Apple Music that you want to have in MP3 format, you must purchase the tracks from the iTunes Store.

Why Does Apple Music Use DRM Files?

As a streaming service, Apple Music permits users with valid subscriptions to access its library of digital audio content. When you listen to songs on Apple Music or download them from the service, you are leasing or borrowing those tracks, not buying them.

Under this arrangement, there is a risk that some users might try to copy or pirate songs and albums they have accessed on Apple Music.

To address the risk of piracy and protect the rights of the contributing artists (and other copyright holders), Apple Music uses DRM-protected files.

The use of DRM-protected files is a standard practice among streaming service providers. DRM files are encoded with encryption that prevents people from illegally copying or distributing them.

Any song files you download from Apple Music have DRM protection coding. As a result, you will not be able to copy or convert the files to another format, including MP3.

These files are only playable on the computer or mobile device they were downloaded onto and are available in AAC and ALAC formats. In addition, the downloaded songs are no longer playable after a subscription expires.

How To Get Apple Music In MP3 Format

What if you find some songs you love on Apple Music and want to listen to them in MP3 format? There are two options for getting song files from Apple that are convertible to MP3.

Option 1: Buy Songs From iTunes Store

The best way to access a non-DRM version of your favorite songs on Apple Music is to purchase them from the iTunes Store. If you visit the iTunes Store, you can peruse and choose to buy tracks from the complete Apple Music catalog.

This is the legal way to obtain the songs in a file format that you can download and convert to an MP3 codec.

The purchased music will be downloaded from the iTunes Store and not Apple Music, so the files generally won’t have DRM protection. It is worth noting, however, that the prevalence of DRM-encrypted files on the iTunes Store has increased since 2009.

The standard format for music files on the iTunes Store is AAC format. After buying and downloading your desired songs, the files appear in your iTunes or Apple Music App library.

At this point, you can use iTunes or the Music App to convert the music to MP3 or a variety of other data encoders.

Option 2: Convert Songs With A File Conversion Software

It is possible but illegal to convert songs from Apple Music directly by using file conversion software.

The internet is replete with file conversion apps that entice users with the option of converting DRM files accessed from streaming platforms like Apple Music.

These file converters operate by bypassing the DRM encryption. Removing DRM protection in this way is illegal. In the US, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act explicitly prohibits the copying or alteration of DRM files.

Due to the associated illegalities, you should avoid using file converter software! Rather purchase the songs from the iTunes Store.

Converting Songs To MP3 With iTunes And Apple Music App

It is easy to convert files from the iTunes Store to MP3 using the iTunes media player (on a PC or Mac) or the Apple Music App.

You can also convert the files using the Apple Music App (native to Mac computers, iPads, and other Apple devices).  The Apple Music app enables users to convert files with minimal time, effort, or technical expertise.  and the Apple Music App.

Converting songs from the iTunes Store into MP3 is essentially the same for iTunes and the Apple Music App.

Here’s how:

  1. click Edit > Preferences > General > Import Settings >Import Using
  2. select Create MP3 Version (if it is not already activated),
  3. select songs for conversion,
  4. click File > Convert > Create MP3 Version.

The converted tracks will appear underneath the original files in your iTunes or Music App library.

FAQs About Apple Music Files

What File format Does Apple Music Use?

The Apple Music library uses two file formats. Audio content is accessible in the high-quality Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) lossy compression file encoder. Content on the streaming platform is also available in Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC).

The quality of this proprietary lossless file format is slightly superior to AAC (though most people won’t be able to tell the difference). Apple Music subscribers can choose ALAC encoding resolutions that vary from CD quality 16-bit (44.1kHz) to 24-bit (192kHz).

Note that ALAC lossless compression files require high amounts of data to stream due to their size, especially compared with lossy encoders like AAC (and MP3). If you download and store ALAC files, they require more hard-drive space than AAC and other lossy compression codecs.

How Do I Download Music from Apple Music?

You can download song files from Apple Music onto many different Apple and Android devices. After downloading the tracks, you can listen to them on your computer or phone without connecting to the internet.

Remember that the downloaded files are DRM-protected, so they become unplayable when a subscription is no longer valid.

Here is the process for downloading audio files from Apple Music if you have an Android device, iPhone, or iPad:

  1. click on the Apple Music App,
  2. choose your desired music,
  3. add the tracks to your library,
  4. click and hold the selected songs,
  5. click the Download button.

Downloading songs from Apple Music to a PC or Mac is very similar and equally straightforward:

  1. Log into the Apple Music App or open iTunes,
  2. select songs or playlists to download,
  3. add the music to your library,
  4. click on the Download button next to your chosen music.

Conclusion

You can download audio content from the Apple Music streaming platform but cannot convert it to MP3 format. The song files on Apple Music are protected with DRM encryption which prevents subscribers from copying or converting them.

The best way to access MP3 versions of Apple Music’s streamed content is by purchasing it from the iTunes Store. Once purchased and downloaded, you can quickly and simply convert the AAC or ALAC files to the MP3 codec.

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