How do I open a .m4a file from Mail into Music app?

TJBUSMC1973 wrote:

You'll have to use iTunes, add it to your iTunes library, then sync it. You can always delete it from your iTunes library later.

Why is that such an issue for you?

Why do people insist on replying to threads without even reading the original post? I explained it there already!

I don't have to use iTunes to save an image from Mail into my camera roll, or to save a PDF from Mail into iBooks. Why should I have to use iTunes to save a music file into Music app?

But I'll repeat it since evidently you can't be asked to read the original posts before spamming a thread with questions that have already been answered. I *do not* want to add these songs to my iTunes library.

My iTunes library is a sacred temple into which I only allow to enter the very best and highest-fidelity musical recordings of all time. I refuse to sully and soil my iTunes library with crappy practice mixdowns from my band, etc.

Want to know why? Because I like to be able to hit "shuffle all" on my iTunes library and know that something that will improve my existence will emanate forth from this amazing device that I have invested thousands of dollars into (yes, I count my cell phone plan amongst the expenses).

I shall not have the crappy burner mixdown tracks from my band's practice sessions come up every five songs (we generate TONS of these... literally hundreds... and they are all high-bitrate .m4a tracks in the 10-15 MB range). I let iTunes keep my music folder organized on my computer. It makes copies of everything being placed into it, and I don't want 159 GB of copies of burner tracks hiding like roaches throughout my temple. We don't name these files anything sensible (in fact the guy who mixes them down intentionally gives them random weird names) and they lack metadata. So there's no easy way to delete them back out of iTunes once they're in there. It's a huge pain; I used to do it, but I swore it off years ago and *I'm never going back!*

The REAL question is, why does Apple force me to have to use iTunes—the most convoluted, kludgy piece of bloatware ever to issue forth from Cupertino—to do something as simple as adding an MP3 from Mail into the Music app on my phone? Why can't there be something simple—something equivalent to the Camera Roll inside the Music app, not only for the files I want to save from Mail, but also for my Garage Band exports, not to mention all the exports from all the various synthesizer, drum machine, and recording apps I use on a daily basis in iOS?

It would be awfully nice to be able to play the songs I've recorded right in the Music app without having to go through the rigamarole of adding those files to my iTunes library, tagging them with metadata, syncing, etc. etc. yadda yadda yadda—just to delete them again as soon as I've synced so they don't pollute my computer's iTunes library!

I bought Apple for ease of use, not so I would be forced to jump through a million hoops just do to something that ought to take one tap to accomplish! That's ridiculous!

Johnathan Burger wrote:

AAC is not an Apple format. It was made by the same people who made mp3, it is meant as an up to date sound file technically superior to mp3.

You can not add anything to the music app except through iTunes on a computer or buying it from the iTunes store on the device. Perhaps this is to prevent piracy.

YOur options are look at the App Store and find a third part app or change your sync settings to manually manage movies and music, then you can drag and drop the file onto the phone.

I never said Apple invented the AAC audio format. By "Apple AAC Audio format" I refer to the specific 256 kbps AAC format Apple uses for iTunes Plus as mentions here: https://www.apple.com/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/docs/mastered_for_itunes.pdf

Preventing me from directly adding my own music from Mail to Music does not prevent piracy. I own the rights to that file, because I played and recorded it myself.

This also wouldn't prevent other people from pirating my music, or anyone else's.

I'll contact Apple with a feature request about this.

(And BTW another option I have is to write an app to do this. 😀)

I'd like to add that I have no problems opening a PDF from Mail into iBooks. I'm not sure why an .m4a or .mp3 wouldn't open into Music in a similar fashion...?