Transfer purchased iTunes music to a USB drive to be played on an MP3 player

canasta99 Said:

“Transfer purchased iTunes music to a USB drive to be played on an MP3 player: How do I save purchased iTunes songs onto a USB drive to be used on an MP3 music player?”

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What to Try...

Copy-Paste-Rename:

On Windows, this always works for me:

1. Create: a new folder on the Desktop
2. Right-Click: the item
3. Select: Copy
4. Open: the new folder
5. Right Click: in the new folder
6. Select: Paste
7. Modify: it’s extension to MP3
8. Open: the file

Note: Open the file with a media player other than iTunes. Perhaps you need to right click on it, and select Open With. Try using:

• Windows Media Player
• QuickTime Player
• Media Player Classic

Works for me.

It generally isn't appropriate to modify a file's extension. In the context of iTunes the only exception might be changing .m4a into .m4r (ringtone) or .m4b (audiobook), where the internal structures of the files are the same, and the extension is used by iTunes to determine how the files are treated on import. Changing .wav to .mp3, for example, creates a file with an extension that is inconsistent with its data, and which may not play properly in some software.

tt2

turingtest2 Said:

"It generally isn't appropriate to modify a file's extension. In the context of iTunes the only exception might be changing .m4a into .m4r (ringtone) or .m4b (audiobook), where the internal structures of the files are the same, and the extension is used by iTunes to determine how the files are treated on import. Changing .wav to .mp3, for example, creates a file with an extension that is inconsistent with its data, and which may not play properly in some software."

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MP3 is the Subject Here:

Why is not "appropriate" for troubleshoot purposes only? Technical people do it all the time.

I read your step by step as an instruction to modify the file extension of what, if they are purchased iTunes tracks, will be AAC/.m4a files from .m4a to .mp3, rather than a troubleshooting step if things didn't work. It was a constructive observation that this particular step might not be useful. We don't know if the OPs MP3 player is an MP3-only player, or if they are using the term generically. Perhaps it can play ACC/.m4a tracks as well. If it can it is most likely going to expect them to have the correct file extension. If it cannot then iTunes can be used to convert the original tracks to .mp3 copies that can be played, as long as we're not talking about DRM-protected content.

tt2

Drag them to it from the iTunes program or open iTunes Media folder. This won't work with tracks gotten through an Apple Music subscription.

(183314)

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

You are welcome.