How to Convert M4A to MP3 in iTunes and Apple Music

By the M4AtoMP3.org editorial team · October 21, 2026 · 9 min read

If your M4A files already live in a music library, Apple’s own software can convert them to MP3 without installing anything else. On a Mac that means the Music app (which replaced iTunes in macOS Catalina); on Windows it means iTunes for Windows or, on newer Windows 11 machines, the Apple Music app. The feature is well hidden: the menu item you need does not appear until you change a setting first. This guide shows exactly where to click on each platform, which bitrate to choose, and how to deal with the duplicates the process leaves behind.

What this method can and cannot convert

It works for audio files you own:

• Songs imported from CDs (often AAC M4A by default).
• iTunes Store purchases from 2009 onwards (“iTunes Plus”, 256 kbps AAC without DRM).
• Voice memos, GarageBand exports and other M4A files you have added to the library.

It does not work for:

• Songs downloaded from the Apple Music subscription. They are protected and the Convert option is greyed out.
• Old .m4p iTunes purchases from before 2009 that still carry FairPlay DRM.

If a file is not in your library and you do not want it there, a standalone tool is simpler: the online M4A to MP3 converter works in the browser and does not touch your library.

Step 1: change the import encoder to MP3

Music app on macOS:

1. Open Music, then choose Music › Settings (or Preferences on older macOS).
2. Click the Files tab.
3. Click Import Settings….
4. Set Import Using to MP3 Encoder.
5. Set Setting to Custom… and choose a stereo bitrate (192 or 256 kbps is a good choice for music), tick Use Variable Bit Rate Encoding (VBR) if you like, and leave Sample Rate on Auto.
6. Click OK twice.

iTunes on Windows:

1. Open iTunes and choose Edit › Preferences.
2. On the General tab, click Import Settings….
3. Set Import Using to MP3 Encoder and choose a setting as above.
4. Click OK twice.

Apple Music app on Windows 11: open Settings › Files › Import Settings and set the encoder to MP3. The rest of the process mirrors the Mac app.

Step 2: create MP3 versions

1. Select one or more songs in your library. Use Cmd/Ctrl-click for several, or Cmd/Ctrl-A for everything in a playlist.
2. Choose File › Convert › Create MP3 Version.
3. Wait. A progress indicator appears at the top of the window; large selections can take a while.

New MP3 copies appear right next to the originals, with the same title and artist.

Step 3: find the new MP3 files

Right-click a converted song and choose Show in Finder (Mac) or Show in Windows Explorer. By default they are stored in:

• Mac: ~/Music/Music/Media/Music/Artist/Album/
• Windows iTunes: C:\Users\<you>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Artist\Album\

You can drag them from there to a USB drive, an Android phone or wherever you need them.

Step 4: tidy up the duplicates

Every conversion leaves two entries in your library. To tell them apart:

1. Switch to Songs view.
2. Right-click the column header and enable Kind (and Bit Rate if you like).
3. Sort by Kind. Originals show “AAC audio file”, “Apple Lossless audio file” or “Purchased AAC audio file”; conversions show “MPEG audio file”.

To keep only the MP3s, select the M4A entries and press Delete, choosing Keep File if you want the originals to stay on disk. A neater option is to create a playlist of the MP3s, export them to a folder, and then remove them from the library entirely so it stays clean.

Step 5: reset the import settings

If you rip CDs, remember that you switched the import encoder. Go back to Import Settings and select AAC Encoder (or Apple Lossless) so future imports are not silently made as MP3.

Which bitrate should you choose?

Apple’s High Quality preset is 160 kbps, which is adequate but a little lower than many people want for music. Recommended settings:

Remember that converting AAC to MP3 is lossy-to-lossy. Choosing an MP3 bitrate at least as high as the source keeps the difference inaudible. See 128 vs 192 vs 320 kbps for a practical comparison.

Common problems

“Create MP3 Version” is missing

You have not changed the import encoder, or the change did not save. The menu item always matches the current encoder: “Create AAC Version” means AAC is still selected.

The option is greyed out

The selected song is protected (Apple Music subscription or old DRM), is a cloud-only item that has not been downloaded, or is a video. Download the file first; if it remains greyed out, it is protected.

Some tags or artwork are missing

The Music app copies most tags. Artwork that was only stored in the library (not embedded in the file) may not be copied. Select the MP3s, choose Get Info › Artwork and add the picture, or use a tag editor. Our guide to keeping metadata has more tips.

Converted MP3s play with a gap between tracks

Gapless playback is harder with MP3 than with AAC. For live albums or DJ mixes, select the tracks and use Get Info › Options › Part of a gapless album. Some players still add a tiny gap; VBR MP3s encoded with LAME usually handle it best.

When another method is better

The Music app is convenient when the songs are already in your library. For anything else — a file someone emailed you, a single voice memo, a folder of recordings — the library detour is slow and leaves clutter behind. Better options:

• The browser M4A to MP3 converter, which needs no install and keeps files on your device.
• ffmpeg for large batches with exact settings.
• The platform-specific guides for Mac and Windows, which compare all the built-in options.

Converting a whole album or playlist at once

You do not have to convert song by song. Two efficient ways:

1. By album: in Albums view, open the album, press Cmd/Ctrl+A to select every track, then choose File › Convert › Create MP3 Version.
2. By playlist: create a playlist (File › New › Playlist), drag in everything you want as MP3, open it, select all and convert. This is the best route when you are preparing music for a car USB stick or an old MP3 player, because you can then drag the converted tracks out in one go.

A neat trick: hold Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) while opening the File › Convert menu. The item changes to Convert to MP3… and lets you choose a folder on disk; every audio file inside it is converted and added to the library. It is the quickest way to process a folder of M4A files that are not yet in iTunes.

Copying the MP3s to a USB drive or another device

Once converted, the easiest way to collect the files is to select the MP3 entries (sort by Kind), then drag them from the song list straight onto a USB drive in Finder or File Explorer. The Music app copies the actual files. Car stereos and older players are often fussy about how a drive is formatted and how many files are in a folder; our guide to the best MP3 settings for car USB covers FAT32, folder limits and tag versions.

What about Apple Lossless files?

If your library is in Apple Lossless (ALAC), converting to MP3 is the step where quality matters most, because you start from a perfect copy. Use Custom › 320 kbps or VBR at the Highest quality. You will not hear a difference from the original on almost any equipment, and the MP3 will be roughly a quarter of the size.

Summary

To convert M4A to MP3 with Apple’s software, first switch the import encoder to MP3 in Import Settings, then select songs and choose File › Convert › Create MP3 Version. Pick a custom bitrate of 192–256 kbps for music, find the new files with Show in Finder or Explorer, remove the duplicates, and switch the encoder back afterwards.

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