Convert Protected Audio Into a Plain MP3

In the early days of internet music shops, DRM (Digital Rights Management) was a popular way to keep users from making copies of their music. This lead to a lot of backlash as many people were locked out of playing their purchased music legitimately on their own devices. DRM has become less prevalent with music files, but you may still have a library full of DRM-protected tracks. Luckily, freeing your files from the shackles of DRM is fairly straightforward.

Steps

iTunes Protected Music (M4P)

  1. Consider purchasing the unprotected versions. Apple no longer sells music that's protected by DRM, but songs purchased before 2009 are likely still protected. With an iTunes Match subscription, you can update all of these files to their unprotected versions, or you can repurchase individual songs and albums.
    • Once you've repurchased the unprotected copies, delete the files from your iTunes library and download them again.
  2. Avoid music conversion software that claims to remove DRM. These are mostly adware and often come packaged with unwanted programs. They also very rarely work and usually just re-record your songs, since DRM cannot be cracked.
  3. Insert a blank CD into your computer. If you don't want to repurchase your old music, you can remove the protection by burning it to a CD and then ripping it back to MP3 format. You can do this entirely in iTunes. There are a few caveats:
    • You'll need to be authorized to play the protected M4P files in iTunes in the first place in order to burn it to a CD.
    • There will be a small drop in quality.
    • You'll want to use a CD-RW if possible if you have a lot of files to convert, otherwise you'll need a lot of blank CD-Rs. You can reuse a CD-RW up to 1000 times, which can be a lifesaver for large libraries.
  4. Find your protected music in iTunes. iTunes' default settings will not tell you which of your songs are protected. You can see which of your songs are protected by adding the "Kind" column to your music list:
    • Open the Music section in iTunes and select your Music library. This will display a list of all of your songs.
    • Right-click the columns at the top of the list and select "Kind."
    • Click the "Kind" column to sort your music by file format. All of your protected songs will display "Protected AAC Audio File" in the "Kind" column.
  5. Create a playlist in iTunes with the protected music you want to convert. To burn a CD in iTunes, you'll need to create a playlist with the tracks you want to burn first.
    • Select 80 minutes of your protected music files. While you can set iTunes to burn multiple CDs in a row, only one of the CDs will retain artist and song information. Creating individual playlists for each CD will ensure that the song information stays intact. You'll also need to do one playlist at a time if you're using a CD-RW.
    • Right-click the selection and select "New Playlist from Selection." Name your new playlist whatever you'd like.
    • Repeat for any additional protected songs until you have multiple 80 minute playlists. Make sure none of the playlists go over 80 minutes, or you won't be able to burn them.
  6. Right-click on the first playlist and select "Burn Playlist to Disc." This will open the Burn Settings window.[1]
    • If you are informed that your computer is not authorized to burn the songs, double-click the song in your iTunes playlist and then enter the Apple ID and password used to purchase it.
    • You cannot burn playlists containing songs that have been burned already more than seven times. If you've burned your songs to CD more than seven times in the past, you won't be able to convert it this way. See the last section of this article for a workaround.
  7. Ensure "Audio CD" is selected and click "Burn." iTunes will begin burning the songs to CD, which will take a few minutes to complete.
    • If you're using multiple CD-Rs to burn a lot of songs, you can continue to burn them to discs. If you're using a CD-RW, proceed with the rest of the steps to rip them, then format the disc and burn the next playlist.
  8. Open the iTunes Preferences menu. After burning your CDs, you'll need to set iTunes to import CD tracks as high-quality MP3 files. You can do this from the iTunes Preferences menu.
    • Windows - Press Alt and click the Edit menu. Select "Preferences."
    • Mac - Click the iTunes menu and select "Preferences."
  9. Click "Import Settings" and set your MP3 options. Use the following settings to get high-quality MP3 files when you rip from your burned CDs:
    • Select "MP3 Encoder" from the "Import Using" menu.
    • Select "Custom" from the "Setting" menu.
    • Set "Stereo Bit Rate" to "320 kbps."
    • Check the "Use Variable Bit Rate Encoding (VBR)" box and set "Quality" to "Highest."
  10. Click the "CD" button at the top of the iTunes window. This will open the CD that is currently inserted in the computer.
  11. Start importing the CD. Click "Yes" when prompted to begin importing the songs. This will take a few minutes to complete. Once the import process is complete, you'll have the new unprotected MP3s in your iTunes library.[2]
    • Because you still have the protected songs in your library still, you'll likely have duplicates. Use the "Kind" column to make the distinction between the two and remove the protected files.
  12. Format your CD-RW and burn the next playlist (CD-RW only). If you're using a single CD-RW to convert your files, you'll need to format it after importing the songs into iTunes so that you can burn the next playlist to it:
    • Right-click on your CD-RW in Windows Explorer ⊞ Win+E or Finder and select "Format."
    • After the disc has been formatted, burn the next playlist to it and then import it into iTunes following the instructions above. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Windows Media Player Protected Music (WMA)

  1. Open Windows Media Player. If you have music files that you purchased through Windows Media Player, they may have DRM protection. You can remove this DRM protection by burning the music to a CD and then ripping it back off of the CD.
    • Avoid programs that claim to remove DRM. Since it is not possible to crack the DRM that's in place, most programs don't work. Instead, they often come bundled with adware that you don't want.
  2. Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW into your computer. By burning the music to a disc and then ripping it, you'll be able to remove the DRM on it. A CD-RW is recommended for large libraries of protected music, since you can reuse it many times.
  3. Open the Library view in Windows Media Player. If you aren't already in Library view, you can enter it by pressing Ctrl+1.
  4. Click the "Burn" tab on the right side of the window. This will display the burn list.
  5. Drag the files that you want to convert into the Burn sidebar. You'll only be able to burn 80 minutes of music at a time (less for some CDs).
  6. Click the "Start burn" button once you've finished adding songs. Windows Media Player will begin burning the songs to the CD. This may take several minutes to complete.
    • If you are unable to burn the songs due to the DRM restrictions, see the next section instead.
  7. Open the "Options" menu in Windows Media Player and adjust your ripping settings. You can change Windows Media Player's CD ripper settings so that ripped songs are automatically converted to MP3 format, saving you a few steps:
    • Press Alt and click "Tool" → "Options."
    • Click the "Rip Music" tab.
    • Select "MP3" from the "Format" menu.
    • Drag the "Audio quality" slider all of the way to the right. Click "Apply" to save your changes.
  8. Click the "Rip CD" button in Windows Media Player once the CD is finished. After the CD finishes burning, it may auto-eject. Reinsert it and then click the "Rip CD" to begin copying the music back to your computer.
  9. Wait for the CD to rip. Windows Media Player will begin extracting the audio from the CD and converting the files to MP3 format. You'll be able to find these files in your "Music" folder. The MP3 files will not have any DRM protection.

Any Protected Music with Audacity

  1. Download and install Audacity. If you have protected music that you can't burn to a CD, or you don't use either of the programs listed above, you can use Audacity to re-record your music files as unprotected MP3s. This is the most time-consuming process, but will work for every file. In order to do this, you'll need Audacity, which is a free, opensource audio recorder and editor.
    • You can download Audacity from audacityteam.org. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
  2. Install the LAME MP3 encoder. Audacity does not come with the ability to save as MP3 until you install an MP3 encoder. LAME is the most popular one, and Audacity is designed to automatically detect it when it is installed in the default location:
    • Download LAME from lame.buanzo.org. Make sure to download the correct installer for your operating system.
    • Run the installer and follow all of the prompts to install LAME. Do not change any of the default installation locations so that Audacity can detect it automatically.
  3. Download and install Soundflower (Mac only). If you're using a Mac, you'll need a free utility called Soundflower that will allow you to record the audio that your Mac outputs:[3]
    • Download Soundflower from github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower/releases/. Download the Soundflower-2.0b2.dmg file.
    • Double-click the DMG file, then double-click the PKG file. This will install Soundflower. You may need to right-click the PKG file and select "Open" if you receive a warning.
    • Click the Apple menu and select "System Preferences." Open the Sound menu.
    • Select "Soundflower (2ch)" in both the Output and the Input tab. Make sure both volumes are turned up. You will no longer hear sound from your speakers, as it is being routed through Soundflower. This will allow Audacity to capture it.
  4. Open Audacity. You'll see the track timeline as well as the playback and recording controls.
  5. Set your recording device. Use the drop-down menus to the left and right of the microphone to set your recording source:
    • Windows - Select "Windows WASAPI" from the first menu, then "Speakers (Manufacturer) (loopback)" from the second menu.[4]
    • Mac - Select "Core Audio" from the first menu, then "Soundflower (2 ch)" from the second menu.
  6. Set your output device. Use the drop-down menu on the far right to set your output device:
    • Windows - Select "Speakers" or "Headphones."
    • Mac - Select "Built-in Output."
  7. Start playing audio. Audacity usually cannot start recording unless there is audio playing. Start playing a junk track so that you can begin recording.
  8. Click the "Record" button and then start the song. Audacity will begin recording the song as it plays.
  9. Finish the recording and export it as MP3. once the track has finished playing, click Stop. You can then make any necessary edits, such as removing the bit of junk at the beginning before you started the song. Once you're ready, you can export the file as an unprotected MP3:
    • Click "File" or "Audacity" and select "Export Audio."
    • Select "MP3 Files" from the "Save as type" menu.
    • Choose your quality settings. Higher quality will result in a larger file.
    • Give the file a name and choose where to save it. You now have an unprotected MP3 copy of your original file.

Warnings

  • Circumventing DRM on digital music may be illegal in your area.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/kb/PH19494?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
  2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/kb/ph20501?locale=en_US
  3. ↑ http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tutorial_recording_computer_playback_on_mac.html
  4. ↑ http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tutorial_recording_computer_playback_on_windows.html
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