Best way to convert your M4A to MP3 file in seconds. 100% free, secure and easy to use! Convertio — advanced online tool that solving any problems with any files. Step 1: Play M4P file on iTunes Open iTunes, double click the M4P file to play it. Step 2: Record M4P file Once opening UniConverter software, go to the Download tab and click on Record Video.Then, select the record area by moving the cross icon in the middle or draging the borders of the frame and click on the REC button to start recording. The recored file will be saved onto the Finished.
M4A is an audio-only file extension that stands for the MPEG-4 audio layer. It has better quality than MP3 and it is often used on iOS devices like iPhone and iPod. Some of the programs that support this format are Windows Media Player, Quicktime, iTunes and Roxio Popcorn, Toast and Creator.
You may want to convert M4A audio to MP3 if you wish to listen to the audio file on devices that do not support M4A. MP3 is the standard audio format so it is supported by most devices and media players. Furthermore, audio in MP3 format is a little smaller than audio in M4A format, so you will be able to save some memory space.
Shareware to Convert M4A file to MP3
Apowersoft Video Converter Studio is a program that you can use to convert M4A file to MP3 format. You can download the free trial version to test its features before you decide to get its full-featured version once the trial is over. This is a powerful and stable tool that offers more features than other free programs that convert M4A to MP3 online or even offline. It needs to be installed on your computer so you don’t have to launch your browser to use it.
It supports various formats including M4A, M4R, MP3, AVI, MKV, WMV, 3GP and more, portable devices like iPhone, iPad, iPod, Galaxy Smartphone, LG, HTC, etc. You can convert a video to another video or audio format and convert an audio file to another audio format fast and easily. Other features that this program boasts are video editor, video player, video downloader, video recorder and MV maker.
Comprehensive M4A to MP3 Converter
Another superb tool I recommend is Streaming Audio Recorder. Besides basic recording function, this tool also provides users with a built-in audio converter. It enables you to convert the M4A file to various formats like MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, WAV, etc. which cater to multiple demands of users. What makes it distinguishable from others is that this program empowers you to convert audio files in batch and can help users to merge a series of files into one file. Converting M4A to MP3 is no more a problem by using this powerful utility.
Here are detailed instructions on how to use it.
![M4a To Mp3 For Mac Free M4a To Mp3 For Mac Free](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118550621/827193703.png)
- Download and install the program on your computer, then launch it.
- Forward to tool menu on the upper-right of the main interface and click the “Audio Converter” tab.
- Hit the “Add” button and select the files you want to convert, and then click “Open” to upload files.
- After ticking the M4A file, you need to choose “MP3” as the output format and click the “Start” button to start the conversion process.
- Wait for a moment when the program converting file, then the converted MP3 file will be saved on your computer. You can check them by tapping the “Open folder”.
Four Free Ways to Convert M4A Audio to MP3
Method 1: Free Online tool – Apowersoft Free Online Audio Converter
This free tool is easy to use that you can convert M4A files or even other audio and video files saved on your computer to MP3 and other audio formats including WMA, WAV, RA, FLAC, AAC, AC3 and OGG without problems. Conversion can be done in several easy steps. Choose the video or audio you wish to convert to MP3, select a format and then convert or if you want to modify the audio parameters like bitrate, channel and sample rate, forward to “Settings” before you do “Convert”. The steps are not complicated that even those who are new to the process of converting files can do it like a pro.
Method 2: Convert M4A to MP3 with iTunes
If you have iTunes installed on your computer, you can also use it to free convert M4A to MP3. Here are the steps that you need to follow for the conversion.
- Open iTunes and click the drop-down arrow on the upper left corner of the window.
- Choose “Preferences”, General and Import Settings.
- Next to “Import Using”, select “MP3 Encoder” and click the “OK” button.
- Find the M4A file you wish to convert, right-click and select “Create MP3 version”.
M4a To Mp3 Converter For Mac Free Download
Method 3: Convert M4A file to MP3 format with free M4A to MP3 converter
There are also free converters that you can download from the Internet designed to convert M4A files to MP3 or other audio file formats. Since they are free, they often come with advertisements. They also allow customization of output quality settings and some even come with a built-in player that lets you listen to the audio files saved on your computer.
Method 4: Convert audio between M4A and MP3 with Freemake Audio Converter
Freemake Audio Converter is another free M4A to MP3 converter that you can convert your audio in M4A to MP3 format. What’s more, it allows users to convert their audio files between various audio formats, including WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, MP3, M4A, etc. Unlike the Apowersoft Free Online Audio Converter, you have to download and install it before using it.
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Permute quickly converts files in a required format.
If you think about it, just a decade or so ago, file formats were really important. People were discussing the differences between various file compressions and you often had to install an app extension if you wanted it to run a certain file format.
It seems that everything changed with the iPhone gaining mainstream popularity. Since all files were now hosted within apps, we never came across any incompatibility issues. Similarly, with more of our work moving to the web, it’s stored within appropriate software right away, so we don’t have to deal with file formats.
Still, occasionally, you might encounter a file that you can’t open or that you’d like to convert an audio file to another format. One of the most frequent issues for Mac users, for example, is dealing with M4A files, which you often want to convert to MP3s. So let’s discuss briefly what is M4A format and where you can find the best M4A to MP3 converter today.
What Is M4A And How To Use It
You might be more familiar with M4A files if you think of them as MP4s, which they essentially are — the only difference is that an MP4 file can handle video while .m4a is for audio only.
MP4 (also known as MPEG-4) is in turn based on QuickTime File Format (QTFF) and, in some sense, was developed to replace MP3. M4A files, for example, are generally smaller in size and can store audio in better quality than MP3s. Their only downside is that M4A players are much harder to find, whereas MP3 is one of the most universal audio formats out there.
So where can you stumble upon the .m4a format? Mostly in Apple’s own iTunes Store, as it’s the default file extension for song downloads, which is then encoded with AAC for reduced file size or ALAC for lossless audio. However, copyrighted songs might also come in the .m4p format, which is a variant of .m4a.
All this leads us to the question of how do you play M4A vs MP3 on Mac and what’s the easiest way to convert file to MP3?
How to play M4A files on Mac
As already mentioned above, a lot of the M4A files you’d come across are from the iTunes Store, so naturally you’d be able to play them on iTunes as well (or the Music app from macOS Catalina onward). You can drag and drop any M4A file into Music and it’ll be added to your library.
In addition to Music, or iTunes, M4A files also work with QuickTime Player (since they are based on QuickTime File Format), which is one of the default apps you can find in your Applications folder. While QuickTime is mostly used for playing movies, it has a standard audio playback functionality built into it as well. But what if you’re after a great .m4a audio experience?
Elmedia Player is one of the most versatile audio and video players out there. Not only can it easily play a variety of M4A files and MP4 formats, it lets you stream content directly from the web and save videos (e.g. from YouTube) for offline viewing as well. What’s more you can stream to any smart TV or AirPlay-enabled device and completely control the way subtitles are displayed.
How to convert M4A to MP3 using iTunes
While there are quite a few M4A players available on Mac, whether via default or third-party apps, you might often need to convert M4A to MP3 iTunes format to make it more widely available — so you can easily port music or audiobooks to virtually any device.
Surprisingly, there’s a way to use iTunes as an audio file converter, although not many people know about it, since it’s not that straightforward. Regardless, here’s how you can convert file to MP3 using iTunes:
- Launch iTunes (or the new Music app)
- Open Preferences (⌘ + ,)
- Navigate to Files ➙ Import Settings…
- Change Import Using to MP3 Encoder ➙ OK
- Drag and drop your M4A file into iTunes
- Select it and then go File ➙ Convert ➙ Create MP3 Version
- Find the new file created in your library (the old file will still be intact)
![M4a To Mp3 For Mac Free M4a To Mp3 For Mac Free](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118550621/588652556.gif)
In a similar fashion, you can change the default iTunes encoder to create WAV, lossless, AIFF, and AAC files. Overall, iTunes is a good enough M4A converter and general file converter to MP3 if you only need to convert one or two songs occasionally. For more regular conversions, there are much more efficient apps out there.
A better way to convert M4A to MP3 on Mac
If iTunes can be a decent M4A to MP3 converter, you might also wonder what other specialized apps can do an even better job?
Permute is a pro-level and truly universal media converter. This blazing fast app allows you to drag and drop any number of files into it and get converted results in seconds. Transform audio, video (or video to audio), images, and more — possible combinations are nearly endless! You can even merge two videos into one or add a subtitle track on the fly.
To use Permute as a M4A to MP3 converter:
- Launch Permute
- Drag and drop your M4A file onto the app's window
- Select MP3 in the Audio dropdown
- Click the Start icon
You can find the MP3 result on your Desktop. Repeat as necessary, and don’t forget that Permute can handle as many files at once as you want — you can use this audio file converter to transform whole albums too.
In the end, most of the time nowadays, we don’t have to deal with file formats and can find the appropriate app relatively easy. In the case with M4A files, you can use iTunes (Music) and QuickTime to play them, but better switch your default media to Elmedia Player altogether. And if you ever need a file converter to MP3, look no further than Permute.
Best of all, Elmedia Player and Permute are available to you at absolutely no cost for seven days via the trial of Setapp, a platform with more than 190 top-tier Mac apps across all categories, from productivity (2Do) to following your favorite blogs (News Explorer). Try them all today for free and discover a whole new world of opportunities.
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