Burn Songs on to a CD
MP3 players and smartphones may be everywhere these days, but sometimes having your music on a CD can come in handy. Whether its driving an old car or using your old stereo in the basement, being able to put your favorite songs on a CD can ensure that you always have access to your tunes. See Step 1 below to learn how.
Contents
Steps
iTunes
- Insert a CD-R into your computer. Almost all modern computers are equipped with a drive that can write CDs. You may run into an issue with an older machine, but in general if the computer was made within the last 10 years it can probably burn. Netbooks without an optical drive will need an external drive connected in order to burn.
- If you want to burn audio CDs, you will need CD-R discs. These can be written to, but cannot be rewritten. CD-RW discs can be rewritten, but many readers will not be able to read these so they should be avoided if you are making an audio CD.
- More expensive CD-Rs may last longer and may be prone to less error. The most popular brands are Memorex, Phillips, and Sony.
- While you can burn an audio DVD, there are very few devices which can read these. Avoid burning an audio DVD if you want it to work in as many devices as possible.
- Create a new playlist. CDs are burned from existing playlists. Click File → New → Playlist. You can give your playlist a name, which will be the name that displays when the CD is inserted into a reader.
- You can create a new playlist in Windows by pressing Ctrl+N or on a Mac by pressing ⌘ Cmd+N.
- Add songs to the playlist. Once you've created your playlist, you can start adding tracks to it. Click and drag songs from your Music library onto your playlist.
- Pay close attention to the playlist length. Most audio CDs can hold up to 74 minutes of music while others can go up to 80 minutes.
- Organize your playlist. before you burn, organize the songs on the playlist so that they are in the order that you want them to play on the CD.
- Start the burn process. Click File → Burn Playlist. This will open the Burn Settings window. Make sure that "Disc Format" is set to "Audio CD".
- If you want compatible readers to display song information, check the "Include CD Text" box.
- iTunes will set a 2-second gap between each track by default. You can change this to 0 or any other value you prefer. These seconds will count against your total play time.
- Lowering the write speed from maximum on older computers can help prevent errors while burning.
- Wait for the burn to complete. Depending on the speed of your CD burner, the burn process can take several minutes to complete. Once it is done, your CD will most likely be ejected.
- Test the CD. After the burn process is complete, you can test out your new CD. If it sounds good and all your tracks play correctly, you can Personalize-a-CD-Without-a-CD-Label-Printer and share it or use it yourself.
Windows Media Player
- Insert a CD-R into your computer. Almost all modern computers are equipped with a drive that can write CDs. You may run into an issue with an older machine, but in general if the computer was made within the last 10 years it can probably burn. Netbooks without an optical drive will need an external drive connected in order to burn.
- If you want to burn audio CDs, you will need CD-R discs. These can be written to, but cannot be rewritten. CD-RW discs can be rewritten, but many readers will not be able to read these so they should be avoided if you are making an audio CD.
- More expensive CD-Rs may last longer and may be prone to less error. The most popular brands are Memorex, Phillips, and Sony.
- While you can burn an audio DVD, there are very few devices which can read these. Avoid burning an audio DVD if you want it to work in as many devices as possible.
- Click the Burn tab. The Burn tab is located on the right side of the Windows Media Player window, between the Play and Sync tabs. This will open a list for you to add tracks to.
- If Windows Media Player is in Now Playing mode, you will need to switch to Library mode by pressing Ctrl+1.
- Add music to your CD. Click and drag songs, albums, or playlists from your library. As long as you have a blank CD-R inserted already, you will see a bar at the top of the Burn list that shows how much space you have left on the disc.
- Set your burn settings. Click the Tools menu and select Options. Click the Burn tab. You can set the disc to eject automatically after being burned, level the volume across all the tracks on the CD, burn without a gap between songs, and more. Once you are satisfied with your settings, click Apply and then OK.
- Lowering the write speed from maximum on older computers can help prevent errors while burning.
- Burn the disc. Click the "Start burn" button at the top of the Burn tab. Your disc will automatically start burning with the settings from the Options menu. Depending on the speed of your drive, this process may take several minutes.
- Test the CD. After the burn process is complete, you can test out your new CD. If it sounds good and all your tracks play correctly, you can Personalize-a-CD-Without-a-CD-Label-Printer and share it or use it yourself.
RealPlayer
- Insert a CD-R into your computer. Almost all modern computers are equipped with a drive that can write CDs. You may run into an issue with an older machine, but in general if the computer was made within the last 10 years it can probably burn. Netbooks without an optical drive will need an external drive connected in order to burn.
- If you want to burn audio CDs, you will need CD-R discs. These can be written to, but cannot be rewritten. CD-RW discs can be rewritten, but many readers will not be able to read these so they should be avoided if you are making an audio CD.
- More expensive CD-Rs may last longer and may be prone to less error. The most popular brands are Memorex, Phillips, and Sony.
- While you can burn an audio DVD, there are very few devices which can read these.
- Click the Burn tab. This is located at the top of the RealPlayer window This will open the Tasks bar on the left side of the window.
- Select your CD type. RealPlayer will prompt you to choose the type of CD you want to create. By default, Audio CD will be chosen. Leave it set to that in order to create a CD that can play in any stereo.
- You can also create an MP3 CD. This is a Data CD that contains MP3 folders and files. You can fit a lot more songs on a disc this way, but not many players can read them.
- Add music to the CD. Use the Library browser in the Tasks bar to find the music you want to add. You can drag individual songs, playlists, or albums over. The progress bar at the bottom of the window will let you know how much time you have remaining on the disc.
- Click and drag the songs in the Burn window to set the track order for the final CD.
- Set your burn options. Click the "Edit options" link at the bottom of the Tasks bar. This will open the Audio CD Options window. You can set the write speed, CD text, gap between tracks, and volume leveling. Once you are happy with the settings, press OK.
- Lowering the write speed from maximum on older computers can help prevent errors while burning.
- Burn the CD. If you are ready to start burning, click the "Burn Your CD" button at the bottom of the Tasks bar. The CD will begin burning, and the progress bar will show how much time is remaining. Depending on the speed of your burner, the process may take several minutes.
- Test the CD. After the burn process is complete, you can test out your new CD. If it sounds good and all your tracks play correctly, you can Personalize-a-CD-Without-a-CD-Label-Printer and share it or use it yourself.
Tips
- Spotify, Google Play Music, and other streaming services are not able to burn CDs, as the music is synced with their servers to track the number of plays and ownership.
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