I am unable to burn songs I have purchased through iTunes store to MP3 CD, and I am unable to convert these songs to MP3 as well.

jphilhackman wrote:

Excellent info; I appreciate this and will apply this going forward as I investigate Apple Music. Concerning my immediate issue: I am trying to burn 200 or so songs pre-2010 that are 128 bit rate; AAC Protected (not purchased) and am getting the error: "Unable to burn to CD it is AAC Protected" or something to that effect.

Did you select AudioCD?

The current build ought to be able to burn an Audio CD of old school 128k protected audio tracks. It worked for an earlier build of iTunes 12 a year ago and although I haven't tested with the current build there is no good reason for that to have changed.

Another option you might want to consider is taking out a one year subscription to iTunes Match. This includes an update for your old purchases allowing you to redownload a 256k DRM-free AAC version of the previously protected tracks. This avoids the effort of burning out some 20 disks only to rerip them again, and you end up with better quality versions than you would otherwise get.

tt2

I know it SHOULD work but it isn't. (Same as the Blazer guy from a year ago). But I like your suggestion on iTunes Match. I'd only have to subscribe once. If I can't find an old iTunes build I'll go ahead with Match. Thank you tt! Have a great day.

You'll find a number of older builds in the iTunes installers section of the user tip Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.

tt2

Ok! I tried both a 2011 and a 2005 version of iTunes neither of which worked (to be able to burn to disc). Question on plan b. iTunes Match: What happens when, after redownloading the DRM free versions, I cancel my Match subscription: will subsequent launches of iTunes still reflect these files as Purchases (m4as) and NOT Protected m4ps? In other words, will this be a final solution?

Yes, the conversion of older protected tracks into purchased or matched copies is a one time deal, so you can take the iTunes Match subscription for one year, used it to release your old protected tracks, and potentially improve the quality of some of your other tracks if you have any other 128k files you want to try to upgrade to 256k. You can turn off the renewal immediately so you don't have to worry about forgetting to cancel. And if you find yourself still finding it useful there will be a reminder that the service is due to expire, such as the one I've just had.

I'd recommend you Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy and make separate archive copies of anything you replace just in case iTunes Match doesn't bring back the version you wanted it to. I have a folder called Originals & Dupes in my main iTunes folder for anything I have archived like this so it is all included in the backup. Rather than trust iTunes Match not to make any errors I have a completely separate library for working with it, which also gets around the potential issue of size, though the limits may have been raised.

tt2

thanks again

Yes. I am Apple Music subscriber.

Yes. I did download befor buying. Kind = Apple Music AAC audio file

Problem Solved....I deleted the song and then went back and bought the same song off of the iTunes Store.

Kind now equals "Purchased AAC audio file.

Thanks for sticking with me....

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2