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How do I transfer Apple Music playlists from my iMac to a USB Drive while maintaining AAC Format?

My new car will only play songs downloaded from Apple Music (AAC format), to a USB drive if they are still in AAC format.


In my previous car I could just drag and drop songs (and playlists) from the Apple Music app to the USB drive. Doing it that way changed the files to "Apple MPEG-4 audio." My previous car would accept and play those files.


My new car requires AAC format for songs on the USB drive. I can't figure out how to make that transfer from AAC files in Apple Music to the USB drive while maintaining AAC format.


How do I do it?

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Sep 10, 2023 12:25 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 10, 2023 6:39 PM

Copying from your computer to a flash drive does not change the format. Whatever format they are in will be "maintained."


If you have files that you downloaded from Apple Music by the recommended procedure ( Add and download music from Apple Music - Apple Support ), they are protected files and will not play outside the Apple ecosystem.


I am sure that what your car needs are unprotected AAC files. These can be purchased from the iTunes Store or other download retailers, ripped from CD, or converted from MP3. Once you have them in your library, simply copy to the flash drive.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 10, 2023 6:39 PM in response to jimpal

Copying from your computer to a flash drive does not change the format. Whatever format they are in will be "maintained."


If you have files that you downloaded from Apple Music by the recommended procedure ( Add and download music from Apple Music - Apple Support ), they are protected files and will not play outside the Apple ecosystem.


I am sure that what your car needs are unprotected AAC files. These can be purchased from the iTunes Store or other download retailers, ripped from CD, or converted from MP3. Once you have them in your library, simply copy to the flash drive.

How do I transfer Apple Music playlists from my iMac to a USB Drive while maintaining AAC Format?

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