converting apple audio files to mp3

You can only purchase from the iTunes Store in AAC. However you can easily convert them to MP3 in iTunes (though you may lose some quality in doing so) provided that they are not protected (i.e. they say 'Purchased AAC...' not 'Protected AAC...' - recent purchases in the Store are not protected..

Firstly, go to iTunes Preferences>General and click the 'Import Settings' button. Set 'Import Using' to 'MP3 Encoder' and use the next drop-down menu to choose your settings - you can choose 'Custom' and set the bitrate as suits you.

Click OK, then OK again to close the Preferences.

Go to the Music list; select the files you want to convert and from the 'File' menu choose 'Create new version' then 'Create MP3 version' (iTunes 11 - in earlier versions choose 'Create MP3 version' from the 'Advanced' menu).

MP3 versions will be created and placed in the music list (the AAC versions will remain there). You can drag them out if you want to save them elsewhere (doing this will not remove them from the Library). You can select and delete any files as required in the Music list. (Never tamper with the actual library in the Finder).

iTunes: How to convert a song to a different file format - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1550 - including information about different formats and discussion about compression.

In iTunes11: File > Create New Version

In iTunes 11 "Create..." is in the File menu, not the Advanced menu.

Topic: Need to convert mp4 to mp3 - Zevoneer's post on converting songs - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9244740

Limnos wrote:

iTunes: How to convert a song to a different file format - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1550 - including information about different formats and discussion about compression.

In iTunes11: File > Create New Version

In iTunes 11 "Create..." is in the File menu, not the Advanced menu.

Topic: Need to convert mp4 to mp3 - Zevoneer's post on converting songs - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9244740

I will appreciate any help from anyone who shows me how to play wma audio files in Itunes. I do not want to use an outside non-Apple audio video converter. The quick time program plays the audio file but I do not know how to bring it in the Itunes Library.
Thank you

Hi,

If you don't want to use a non-Apple converter, then there's nothing you can do. Apple's software does not natively play WMA nor WMV content (if QuickTime plays it, you must have either the Flip4Mac codec or Perian, both third-party products), nor does any Apple software on Mac OS X have the ability to convert WMA to a format iTunes can handle.

Jim

I will appreciate any help from anyone who shows me how to play wma audio files in Itunes. I do not want to use an outside non-Apple audio video converter.

Jenal, If you have access to a Windows PC, even temporarily, note that iTunes for Windows can process WMA files by converting them to the audio format indicated in Import Preferences. Bring the resulting audio files back to your Mac and add them to your iTunes library.