Is there any way I can convert songs purchased from iTunes into MP3s to play on my mobile?
2006/11/17 14:59:03
I purchased two songs on iTunes and realised I can't load them onto my Sony Ericsson mobile phone as they are in M4P format. Is there a way I can convert them to MP3 to play them on my mobile?
-- Submitted by: Stephen Arnerich, via e-mail
Answer by:
Ella Morton
Apple intentionally sells iTunes songs in "FairPlay" protected M4P format, partly to prevent songs from being played on non-iPod hardware.
There are a few open-source projects that have been set up to create software that circumvents the file restrictions and converts songs so they play back on other devices. However, most of these programs will not work with version 6.0 of iTunes or later, and many of the authors have been slapped with lawsuits from Apple.
If you want to find out more about the software that (theoretically) allows you to play back iTunes-purchased tracks on non-iPod players, Wikipedia has a good summary of the applications on its FairPlay page.
There is one way to turn protected M4P tunes into MP3s -- you can burn the songs to an audio CD, then rip them back into your liubrary as MP3s using iTunes' CD import feature. It's a hassle, and the recompression of the files is likely to result in loss of quality, but it will give you unprotected files in MP3 format. Whether it's legal is another matter -- the waters here are pretty murky.
Basically, there's no easily accomplished way to play those songs on your phone, and most methods infringe copyright law. This is one of the reasons why Apple's iTunes digital rights management system has been a subject of controversy and legal action.
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sm
17/11/2006 04:07 PM
There is one option - burn the fairplay songs to CD, then rip the CD back into MP3 format. You may lose a bit of quality (converting an already lossy format to another lossy format) and it's a bit fiddly but it'll do the job.
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Crynja
18/11/2006 03:13 PM
sm, I agree. I am always surprised that people overlook this pretty straightforward option. I often burn iTunes bought tracks to CD for car listening, and there is no quality degradation in this process. Reripping back at a slightly higher bit rate should preserve the quality pretty well. Just make sure you rip in mp3 format and not the more recent (better) AAC format. You can set this option under Preferences>Advanced>Importing>Import Using: "MP3 Encoder", Setting: "High Quality (160 kbps)" or even "Higher Quality (192 kbps)".
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sam
30/01/2008 07:20 AM
You can try downloading a free software program called frostwire or limewire which you can download free music but be aware it is illegal although its a filesharing program it is quite good, also be aware of what you download!
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dæmon
21/04/2008 03:02 AM
Ha ha although i don't thing Sam's comment is allowed to be posted, there is a good point there... you HAVE bought the songs... you just want to be able to listen to them... which is theoretically your right.
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