To convert M4A to MP3, finding a solution or a converter in Google will be wise choice. I would like Mp3 format to listen to music, and i have lot of album music wanting to convert. If there is a fast conversion, that would be better.
“A friend of mine burned his demo cd using itunes on his pc. I zipped it up and sent it to myself so I could copy it onto my own computer/non-iPod mp3 player. It turned out to be a folder of M4A files that I can’t play. I’m looking for free, or very cheap, software to convert them to MP3, no spyware, very small footprint, clean install, no iTunes. Google brings up a number of results. I tried a freeware app called Bonk or something and it didn’t work. What kind of M4A to MP3 converter should I use?”
Like what Google has brought up, there are many M4A to MP3 converting programs for converting M4A to MP3. Here in this post, a professional M4A to MP3 converter program and an online audio converter will be introduced so that you have more than one solution for converting M4A to MP3. Take a look.
Part 1: Convert M4A to MP3 with Leawo Video Converter
Leawo Video Converter could help you easily convert M4A sound files to MP3 format or other audio formats within a few clicks. While acting as a professional audio converter tool, this video converter could easily convert audio files between various audio formats like M4A, AAC, OGG, WAV, MP3, etc. With this M4A to MP3 converter, you can customize output quality settings and also listen to the track with the help of the built-in player.
Video Converter
☉ Convert video and audio between all formats, of course including M4A to MP3 conversion
☉ Trim, Crop, Effect, Watermark to edit video
☉ Internal video player for previewing
☉ Support 2D to 3D conversion
☉ Add external subtitle and select audio channel
☉ Remove background noises
Download and install Leawo Video Converter on your computer, and then follow the guide below to convert M4A to MP3.
Guide on how to convert M4A to MP3 with Leawo Video Converter:
Free Mp3 To M4a Converter Software
Step 1: Import source M4A audio files
Kick off Leawo Video Converter to enter the main program interface, and click “Add Video” button on the sub-menu to load your source M4A audio files.
Note: It allows batch conversion, and more, it also allows merging audio filesinto a big one by clicking the “Merge all files into one” button next to the green convert button.
Step 2: Set MP3 as output format
Click the drop-down box next to the “Add Photo” button. On the drop-down list, select “Change” option. Then on the popup Profile window, select “MP3″ from “Format” column as output format.
Note: If you need, you could click the “Edit” button on the drop-down profile setting box to adjust detailed audio parameters including audio codec, bit rate, channel and sample rate.
Step 3: Convert M4A to MP3
Click the big green “Convert” button on the sub-menu bar next to the format setting drop-down box. Then, on the popup sidebar, set output directory. After setting output directory, click the “Convert” button right below. Leawo Video Converter would start to convert M4A to MP3 immediately.
After a while, you will get your MP3 files and feel free to enjoy them on common devices and players. This would be one of the most efficient ways for you to convert M4A to MP3. Surely, there is also online solution available for you to convert M4A to MP3 online for free. And there is also Mac version for M4A to MP3 Mac conversion if you are using Mac.
Video guide on how to use Leawo Video Converter:
Part 2: Convert M4A to MP3 with online, free M4A to MP3 Converter
On the other hand, you can use a free M4A to MP3 converter to convert M4A to MP3 free, such as Online Audio Converter. It is a free online app that converts audio files for you. The app supports all formats, processes your files quickly, and does not require installation. Check out the guide below to convert M4A to MP3 free with this free M4A to MP3 converter.
3 steps to convert M4A to MP3 free with online, free M4A to MP3 Converter:
Step 1: Import source M4A audio files
After entering the page of this online audio converter, click “Open files” button to browse and choose source M4A audio files for importing. Alternatively, you can import source M4A audio files via Google Drive, Dropbox or URL.
Step 2: Set MP3 as output format
Click on “mp3” to set MP3 as output format, and at the same time you can perform advanced settings to set Bitrate, Sample rate, Channels, etc.
Step 3: Start converting M4A to MP3
Click on “Convert” button to start converting M4A to MP3.
Part 3: Convert M4A to MP3 with Leawo Music Recorder
Except for the professional M4A to MP3 converter and the free online converter, you can also record the M4A audio files and save as common MP3 format as you like with professional recording software. And Leawo Music Recorder would be the most commonly used recording tool which is powerful but easy-to-use music recording software program that lets you record music from any built-in input audio, computer audio and online music sources, like YouTube, Spotify, AOL Music, Last.fm, etc. and then save in MP3 or WAV format with lossless quality. Moreover, it could even automatically add music tags when recording music and allows you to manually edit music tags via music tag editor. It has a built-in library so that you could find and manage all the recorded music files. Ever more, you could share recorded music files to iTunes within one click if necessary. Therefore, with Music Recording downloaded and installed, you are able to record the M4A files and save them as common MP3 files simply in couple of steps.
Step 1. Run and enter Leawo Music Recorder. Launch the recorder on your PC by clicking Music Recorder icon on the start navigation bar on your PC, and Music Recorder will start to run.
Step 2. Now you can click on the “Audio Source” icon to pop up the audio source setting panel where you could select “Record Computer Audio” option to record your downloaded M4A files. It is for online audio and record streaming audio. Surely, you should choose “Record Audio Input” option if you are going to record audio from built-in input audio like Mic.
What’s more, on the setting panel you are also allowed to set the output path on the “General” option, choose output format on “Format” option and set the start time and duration of the recording under “Scheduler” option if you need.
Step 3. Start Recording M4A files and save as MP3 files. Click the red “Start” button and then click to play the M4A audio file right away. Make sure that you initially let this music recording software start recording before you play your M4A file to avoid any unnecessary content missing.
When the recording process completes, you will find the recorded MP3 audio files listed on the Media page on the program and you can manually edit the music tags, add recorded music to iTunes if necessary and play the lossless music as you like. Definitely, you can transfer MP3 files to any portable devices or get them played on common audio players as well.
Part 4: Compare the three solutions
Obviously, the three solutions mentioned above are proved to be effective ways to convert M4A to MP3. And they all have great features and merits for helping you feel free to enjoy your audio files in MP3 on any occasions. However, you may want to know which one would be the best or most appropriate for special cases. Here comes the comparison table that might be helpful to differentiate the three solutions.
|
Features |
Leawo Video Converter |
Online Audio Converter |
Leawo Music Recorder |
|
Program download and installation |
√ |
× |
√ |
|
Support any common input audio format |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Extract audio from a video file |
× |
√ |
√ |
|
Convert audio easily and quickly |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Output lossless audio quality reserved |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Advanced output quality settings |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Batch conversion |
√ |
√ |
× |
|
Tag editing support |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Support output audio format |
MP3, M4A, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, AC3, and other common audio formats |
MP2, WAV, iPhone Ringtone, M4A, FLAC, OGG, MP2 and AMR. |
Only MP3 and WAV |
|
Working speed |
Fast on any occasion |
Depend on the internet access speed |
Depend on the source audio files |
|
Cost |
Free trial |
Free and file size limited |
Free trial |
Extension: Convert DRM-locked M4A to MP3 with Leawo Prof. DRM
Mp3 To M4a Converter Freeware
Sometimes we purchase songs in M4A format from iTunes Store and might want to listen to these iTunes songs on other MP3 players. However, we will be told that we can’t play these iTunes M4A songs on other players due to DRM protection. What should we do then? Don’t worry. You could actually turn to Leawo Prof. DRM to convert DRM-locked M4A songs to DRM-free MP3 format in simple clicks. As a professional iTunes music converter, Leawo Prof. DRM could perform as iTunes music converter to help you remove DRM protection and convert DRM-M4A files to DRM-free MP3 format easily.
Step 1: Add iTunes M4A music
Launch Leawo Prof. DRM. It will automatically launch your iTunes. Then click the button of “Add Files” on the toolbar. On the popup “Add Files” window, consecutively open “Library > Music” to choose and add M4A music from your iTunes library.
Step 2: Set parameters for the output music files
Leawo Prof. DRM will convert iTunes music to MP3 files by default. And it allows you to set the MP3 parameters like channel, bit rate, sample. To do these, click the pencil edit icon in each loaded iTunes music title.
Step 3: Set an output folder
At the bottom of the interface, open the “Output” box to set output directory.
Step 4: Remove DRM from iTunes music and convert M4A to MP3
Click the “Convert” button at the bottom right corner to begin to remove DRM from iTunes M4A music and convert iTunes M4A music song to MP3 at the same time.
Step 5: Check the converted MP3 music files
When the conversion completes, tap the “Converted” tab to check the converted music files. Click the option of “Open file” to open the output MP3 music file.
After converting with Leawo Prof. DRM, you could then freely transfer the converted iTunes music to Sony Smart TV and other non-Apple devices for unlimited listening.
With Leawo Prof. DRM, you could not only convert iTunes DRM music to DRM-free MP3 files, but also convert iTunes DRM M4V video to DRM-free MP4 video, convert iTunes/Audible audiobooks to DRM-free MP3 audio files, convert eBooks from Kindle, Kobo and Adobe Digital Edition, and download and convert Spotify songs freely.
by Christine Smith • 2020-06-09 17:29:13 • Proven solutions
Despite the MP3 format being the most ubiquitous audio file format, you will frequently run into files in the M4A format. This is because the M4A format is still used by many individuals all over the world. The reason you may not have noticed the presence of a M4A file on your device is because most media players are able to play the file and you won't see any difference between this file and the MP3 file format. However, some audio players may fail to support the M4A format and in this case, you will have to convert M4A to MP3 iTunes for playback on different devices. In this article, you'll learn the top 2 methods to convert M4A files to MP3 with iTunes and without iTunes easily.
Part 1. How to Convert M4A to MP3 in iTunes (DRM-Free)
Because of the incompatibility between MP3 and M4A file, many companies have developed software to try to bridge this gap by enabling you to convert M4A audio to MP3 in iTunes. These converted files will act just like any MP3 and will be playable on virtually any device and any media player. One of these applications and possibly the most popular one is iTunes by Apple. Like most other Apple applications, iTunes is easy to use and never disappoints. iTunes converts M4A to MP3 easily and here are the steps necessary.
Step 1: Open import settings. Click the Preference submenu item from the Edit menu item and on the resulting preferences window, click on Import settings button. This is in the general tab of the Preferences window.
Step 2: Adjust import settings. In the Import settings dialogue, select MP3 Encoder in the drop down against Import Using. Choose the most appropriate bitrate for you. A higher bitrate means a higher quality audio but you will be compromising on the size. A bitrate of 128kbps would be the average.
Step 3: Convert M4A files to MP3. Once all the import settings are okay and you now ready use iTunes M4A to MP3 feature, add M4A to iTunes. Finally, click on the Convert submenu item from File menu item and select iTunes Create MP3 version. Now let iTunes do its magic and at the end, you will find an MP3 version of the file in the same folder as the M4A file.
Part 2. How to Convert M4A file to MP3 Without iTunes on Windows/Mac
You may have noticed that iTunes wasn't built to be an audio converter but rather a media manager that handles audio, video, Podcasts and even TV. It supports only a few audio formats for conversion and you can only convert iTunes DRM-Free files which are not in copyright protect. On the other hand, using iTunes to convert M4A file to MP3 is more complicated, why not find an easier alternative to complete the conversion? Wondershare UniConverter (originally Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate) is the best iTunes M4A to MP3 converter, which not only turn M4A to MP3 but also convert MP3 to M4A for iTunes. Follow the simple steps below.
M4a To Mp3 Converter Online
Wondershare UniConverter - Best iTunes M4A to MP3 Converter
- Best alternative of iTunes to convert M4A to MP3 or other audio formats with simple steps.
- Support 1,000+ video and audio formats like MP3, WAV, OGG, WMA, AAC, M4A, etc.
- Customize audio files by changing encoder, bitrate, sample rate, and other parameters.
- Super fast converting speed and extract audio/video without any loss in quality.
- Download video/audio files from 10,000+ websites by pasting URLs.
- Transfer M4A, MP3 and other audio files from PC/Mac to iPhone/iPad/Android devices easily.
- Toolbox with additional functions including Fix Media Metadata, Video Compressor, GIF Maker, CD Burner, etc.
- Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, Mac OS 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6
Steps of How to Convert M4A to MP3 Without iTunes on Windows/Mac
Steps listed below are all based on Mac version, however, Windows users can also follow similarly as both Windows version and Mac version of Wondershare UniConverter have almost the same interface and functions.
Full Mp3 To M4a Converter
Step 1 Add iTunes M4A Files to iTunes Alternative
Launch Wondershare M4A to MP3 converter after download and installation, select Convert option on the homepage. Click the +Add Files button to select the M4A (MPEG 4 Audio) files you want to convert. Or you can directly drag and drop M4A files to the program. Mac users can also add M4A files from iTunes directly by clicking on the Media Browser button.
Step 2 Select MP3 as Destination Format
Click the drop-down button next to Convert all tasks to: option on the right pane of the window, this is where you select MP3 as a destination format. Find MP3 option under the Audio tab and select a resolution. If you are converting MP3 to M4A iTunes then the destination file format should be M4A.
Step 3 Convert M4A Files to MP3 Without iTunes on Windows/Mac
Lastly, click on the Convert All button to convert iTunes M4A to MP3 on Mac with iTunes alternative. The process will be completed soon and be found from the Converted tab.
Free M4a To Mp3 Converter
Conclusion: To solve the problems of limited features on software like iTunes, Wondershare UniConverter comes with a tone of features with support of converting multiple media file type in an easy and intuitive process but yet much more powerful. Don't be scared about different incompatible file types like M4A anymore, by using Wondershare UniConverter to convert any media file you encounter to the file types you expect them to be in.