MP3 downloads not opening/paying in iTunes

Hi! I'm legit just ran into the same problem as you. I used VLC and I can finally open the mp3 file into Apple Music. I hate the extra steps but all you have to do is once you've downloaded the mp3 file go onto VLC click the file option above and press "Convert/Stream" or shift+command+s, select the file, change the profile to audio mp3 and name the new file whatever you want but add ".mp3" next to it. It works for me just fine.

Thanks Bakastine! This completely worked for me. Every time I turn around I suddenly can't import or load a song to my iTunes library but this did the trick. Yes it's additional extra steps but for me it has been worth it. I'm providing extra details on exact steps for those like me that needed a little more detail on how to do what you were explaining (trial and error on my part to get it right!):

1.      Open VLC

2.     Click Media then Convert/Save

3.      On the File Tab, click ADD, then find the MP3 file in the folder it is currently located to select & open. The click

Convert/Save.

4.      In the next box, ensure the Setting radio button is marked for Convert and the Profile indicates Audio – MP3. Click Browse at the bottom and then select the folder you want to re-save the file. You can rename it whatever you want just ensure the extension is .mp3.

5.      From here you can drag/drop into your iTunes folder or add to the library from iTunes.

Finally found a solution without having to download any outside softwares!!

So these mp3's that I downloaded from the internet were able to be opened in Quicktime. Once I did that, I went to File -> Export as Audio. This turns it into an mp4 and you can put it wherever. I put it on my desktop, double clicked it, and it was able to play in iTunes.

Hope this helps!!

Tried every single proposed solutions - didn't work.

Then all of a sudden I imported a 320 kbps mp3 instead of a lower 128 kbps quality --> it worked!

So it seems some itunes update broke the ability to import legacy files.

Other solution : open it in Quicktime Player, then choose File>Export As> Audio Only and save as .m4a --> this will then allow you to import the song/file in iTunes.

This was suggested many different ways, but it took me several attempts to figure it out. So, I wanted to share what I did in case it's helpful to anyone else.

Download the .mp3 like you always have.

From 'Downloads', right click on the file and select 'Open with'> QuickTime Player.

Once it's open in QuickTime, Select File> Export As> Audio Only> save it back in Downloads.

Now the new file you saved should be a .m4a.

Right click on it and select 'Open with'> Music.

It should start playing in Itunes automatically which adds it to your library.

I kept trying to save the m4a file directly to the Music folder and that didn't work.

You also can't just change the .mp3 to .m4a. When I tried that, it opened with itunes, but nothing played.

Good luck :)

KR,

There are many ways to add an MP3 to your iTunes/Music library. It is not uncommon for one or more of them to be broken. Once you are sure the valid MP3 is on your local drive, try some of the following:

• Drag it into iTunes (or Music)
• Drag it into a specific playlist (i.e., the open window of a regular playlist, not a smart playlist)
• Drag it into the "Automatically Add..." folder
• Use the command File > Import and navigate to its location
• Right-click the MP3 and choose Open With > iTunes (or Music)
• Double-click the MP3

There might be more ways, but at least try those.

I had this problem earlier when trying to do this…

I found the solution to be simply changing the file format to “.m4a”. It imported fine after that

-macOS Monterey 12.0.1

Hey guys! I tried @matinik13’s way of opening an mp3 file in QuickTime then exporting audio as m4a. That didn’t work for me as I couldn’t figure out how to export just the audio.. but it did give me the idea to covert the mp3 files into m4a files. After converting to m4a, I was able to drag and drop the music file into my iTunes as we all normally do. Hope this helps!!! Xoxo

Hi Everyone, having the same issues in 2022. I was downloading YouTube to MP3 and the mp3 and nothing would play. I found a YouTube to .wav converter instead and it works just fine. You may just have to convert everything to .wav. Worked for me. Hopefully it helps.

Unreal. Suddenly unable to perform the workflow I've been using to manage my music since about 2004.

Workaround for changing the files to mp4s seems to be the way to go - but instead of exporting from Quicktime, just enable file extensions and change .mp3 to .mp4. Then you can drag the file into iTunes, and should be good to go.

Guessing this must be to combat ymp3 or similar downloaders / push people to relinquishing control of their music and using Spotify etc... I can't stand this garbage stop making things worse ffs

I recently upgraded my OS to Monterey and noticed the same issue. My workaround is I convert my MP3's to M4A's and the music files work like they used to in iTunes (Apple Music now).

Hi, i don't know if you found a way, but while reading the comments, i managed the fix the issue. I had the same problem, could had new mp3 files to my library. I just had to change them into mp4 and it worked ...... So i opened the file, right-clicked to rename my file, and changed the extension to mp4. Easy peasy, but yet so annoying.

Hope that helps !

Spent so much time trying to fix this issue, but only the solution that you gave worked.

Before applying your solution, I could play mp3 with space. Had set all mp3 to open with Music app, could play mp3 in preview, but it was not opening in music app. Finally, as you mentioned, opened the mp3 in QuickTime and exported - Audio Only which created m4a file, then could open the file in Music App...what a relief ;) Thank you!

I found a way that works. So download VLC media player (search on Google and download it). Once you have downloaded it, you click on Media > Concert/save and select all the files you want to convert to mp3. After you have converted them, they do open in iTunes. You can also find a video on YouTube about this! when you give in ' MP3 downloads not opening/paying in iTunes' in the search bar.

I found that if you change the extension of the files from .mp3 to .mp4 I am able to drag the files to the music App