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Q: Converting m4p to mpeg-4 not working, found a solution

I was unable to convert older purchased M4P files to MPEG-4 and had started another post, but later found a solution. I am reposting the original with a new name, updated with my solution.

 

Hi, I have several older albums in iTunes that I would like to convert from the AAC/DRM .m4p format to MPEG-4. I used to have the last-gen 80GB iPod with the round interface but it was stolen so I need to put my music on my current Android phone. I currently have my library on a Windows laptop running Win7 (and just bought iMatch).

 

I followed the steps on the Apple support site here:

 

iTunes: How to convert a song to a different file format - Apple Support

    http:  support.apple.com/en-us/HT204310

I realize now this mostly dealt with setting my CD import preferences to MP3, but it did lead me to this link:

 

About iTunes Plus - Apple Support

support.apple.com/en-us/HT201616

 

Based on this advice I purchased the iTunes Match feature for $24.99, then followed the instructions to delete my first test album. I deleted the album from My Music in iTunes and confirmed that the files were removed from the album folder in My Music.

 

I then did the following steps as per the instructions

 

6.Click the iTunes Store tab at the top of iTunes.

7. Under Quick Links on the right-hand side of iTunes, click Purchased.

8. Click Music in the upper-right corner of iTunes.

9. Find the song or album you want to upgrade.

10. Click the iCloud Download icon on the song or album to download the new version.

 

The album then started to download, song by song, but they were downloaded in M4P format again.

 

I repeated this process again, with the same results. I later found a solution to my problem, which had two causes.

 

Issue 1:

iTunes Match not properly purchased.

I wondered if for some reason iTunes did not know I could download the songs as MPEG-4. I then realized that my iTunes Match purchase for some reason had not gone through so I closed iTunes, rebooted my PC and went through the process of purchasing it again. I did not get billed twice (whew).

 

Now that iTunes Match was purchased and working, I let it sync overnight.

 

Issue 2:

After iTunes Match all sync'd, I deleted my test album again but I could not find it again to try and download it. I could not find it in MyMusic or in my Purchased section of my iTunes Store. It appeared to be gone forever!

 

I went through the steps outlined above (find the m4p files, delete the test album, go to iTunes>Purchased>Music, try and find the album I just deleted and try and download it. But the album I had just deleted in My Music was not to be seen in Purchased music in the iTunes Store. I started to get upset, but then calmed down and started looking around. I finally found the issue and a solution.

 

The issue is that once you delete the album, it is now hidden from you (but they don't tell you this in the links above). You need to unhide it in order to download it as an MPEG-4


Here are the next steps you need to do AFTER you delete the album (STEP 5 in the 2nd link above), but BEFORE STEP 6. They are steps 5a, 5b, etc. here. Steps 6-10 are pretty much no longer accurate, at least on the link that iTunes Help has posted. You can ignore them.

 

1 Open iTunes.

2    If you're not already, sign in with your Apple ID and password.

3   Click the My Music tab at the top of iTunes.

4  Click the song or album you want to upgrade.

5    Press the delete key on your keyboard. In the message that appears, click Move to Trash.

     5A. IN THE ITUNES STORE, CLICK ON "ACCOUNT"

     5B. SCROLL DOWN TO ITUNES IN THE CLOUD.

     5C. WHERE YOU SEE HIDDEN PURCHASES, CLICK MANAGE

     5D. BOTTOM RIGHT, UNHIDE ALL THE ALBUMS YOU JUST DELETED THAT WERE IN M4P FORMAT

     5E.  UP TOP GO BACK TO ACCOUNT (I COULDN'T GET UP TO THE STORE ANY OTHER WAY)

     5F. CLICK ON THE ITUNES STORE AGAIN

     5G. CLICK ON PURCHASED.

     5H. MAKE SURE "NOT IN MY LIBRARY IS SELECTED" (DARK) AT THE TOP.

     5I. ON THE LEFT, SCROLL DOWN TO THE ARTIST WHOSE ALBUM YOU JUST DELETED, CLICK ON THEM.

     5J. YOU WILL NOW SEE PURCHASED ALBUMS THAT ARE NOT IN YOUR LIBRARY (I.E. YOU JUST DELETED THEM).

     5K. ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT, CLICK DOWNLOAD ALL.

     5M. NOW THE ICON WILL CHURN AND THE SONGS/ALBUMS YOU JUST DELETED WILL BE IN YOUR MY MUSIC/ARTIST/ALBUM FOLDER.

(ignore below)        

6    Click the iTunes Store tab at the top of iTunes.

7    Under Quick Links on the right-hand side of iTunes, click Purchased.

8    Click Music in the upper-right corner of iTunes.

9    Find the song or album you want to upgrade.

10    Click the iCloud Download icon   on the song or album to download the new version.

 

That seems to be working for me and I am going through my albums and converting them. Sorry if this is all already well known and I'm just restating the obvious, but I couldn't find a clear set of instructions on the iTunes Help site, so I'm posting this here.

 

d.

Posted on Oct 14, 2015 9:12 PM