How to strip DRM off iTunes music on Windows and Mac
There are many ways to remove DRM (short for Digital Rights Management) protection from iTunes music. On Windows OS, you can remove iTunes DRM using the burn-and-rip method or you can turn to programs like TuneClone M4P Converter and DoubleTwist. On Mac OS X, iMovie is the perfect solution to removing DRM protection from iTunes music. Besides, freewares like FairGame is also a pretty good choice. So this article is dedicated to introducing several methods of removing the nasty DRM from iTunes music on Windows and Mac OS X. It is divided into the following five parts:
Note: To remove DRM protection from iTunes video, please switch to this guide.
Part 1. Remove DRM from iTune with burn-and-rip method (Win & Mac, iTunes music only)
a. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.
b. Burn DRM iTunes music to make an Audio CD. You cannot select the MP3 CD option since it requires the DRM protected iTunes music be converted to MP3.
c. After the Audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 files.
Part 2. Remove DRM from iTunes with TuneClone (Win & Mac, iTunes music only)
a. Download TuneClone M4P Converter and install it.
b. Make settings in TuneClone
Click the “Settings” button in TuneClone. In the pop-up dialog, you can specify the “output folder”, “output filenames”, “output format”, etc for the output files.
Note: A Virtual CD Drive will be installed to convert iTunes music files. You must make sure this CD burner is successfully installed. you can check whether it is successfully installed and where it is installed at the bottom left corner of TuneClone interface.
c. Make settings in iTunes
Create a new playlist, and add the iTunes songs you want to convert to the playlist.
Right click the playlist you just created and choose “Burn Playlist to Disc”.
In the pop-up dialog of “Burn Settings”, make the settings as highlighted below:
d. Start to burn
Click the “Burn” button to start burning.
Part 3. Remove DRM from iTunes with iMovie (Mac only, iTunes music only)
In the iMovie window, select the ‘Media’ tab located between ‘Themes’ and ‘Editing’. You will notice that the top right portion of the interface now offers a media browser. Select the ‘Audio’ tab and locate the playlist which contains purchased music, or search by artist/title.
Select the DRM-laden song and drag the file from the media browser into the iMovie timeline where it says “Drag audio here to build your project.”
In order to export the song, iMovie requires that a visual image be associated with the audio track – “iMovie thinks that it is going to be exporting a movie”. Simply drag a blank image (or any other image) to the track above the previously imported audio file. Once iMovie has processed the image, select the ‘Share…’ sub menu item from found inside ‘Share’ in iMovie’s menu bar.
Ensure that ‘Expert Settings’ is selected in the “Compress movie for:” drop-down menu. Selecting ‘Expert Settings’ mode will provide the options to export the file as an audio file. Select the ‘Share’ button.
In the Save as… dialogue, select “Sound to AIFF” in the Export drop-down menu, Choose an appropriate directory for iMovie to export to, title the file, and select ‘Save’. Depending on your machine configuration, iMovie will compress and export the movie project as an audio file in 15-40 seconds.
Locate the exported AIFF audio file and drag to your iTunes Library. Right-click on the file and select “Convert Selection to AAC”. Once completed, ‘Get Info’ on the new file, edit meta data, add album art, and trash the originally purchased and AIFF audio files from your iTunes library.
Part 4. Remove DRM from iTunes with FairGame (Mac only, iTunes music only)
FairGame is freeware to remove DRM protection from iTunes music on Mac OS X. It will convert the DRMed songs you bought on the iTunes Store to an unprotected format (using iTunes default encoder) and keep all the original metadata, lyrics and artwork. FairGame doesn’t do lossless DRM stripping. It re-encodes protected AAC files purchased in iTMS into unprotected AAC file using Apple’s iMovie software.
What you MUST DO (only once) to get FairGame to work:
- enable “Access for assistive devices” in the “Universal Access” system preference
- select “Place clip in Movie Timeline” in the “Import” preference of iMovie HD
Then you can simply:
- select some songs in iTunes
- click on the “Process songs” button
Don’t touch anything and wait until it’s done…(FairGame is scripting iMovie’s interface to process the songs, don’t interfere)
How to convert MP4 to MP3?
In this blog, we have talked a lot about converting M4P to MP3. Some of the visitors thought that I could have made a spelling mistake by typing MP4 as M4p. As a matter of fact, the spelling is correct. M4P and MP4 are two different media formats. Let’s take a look first:
What is M4P?
MPEG-4 files with audio streams encrypted by FairPlay Digital Rights Management as sold through the iTunes Store use the .m4p extension. iTunes Plus tracks are unencrypted and use .m4a accordingly.
AAC VS. M4A VS. M4P VS. M4B VS. M4R
What is MP4?
MP4 is the official multimedia container for MPEG-4 video and audio. Although such video can be stored in a number of modern containers, including MPEG-2 PS/TS and Matroska, the development of MP4 is important because it gives hobbyists a replacement for the outdated AVI container which became the standard for MPEG-4 ASP (DivX, XviD, 3IVX, etc,…) video.
So in this post, I’d like to show you how to save MP4 video as MP3 audio. The freeware Clone2Go Free Audio Converter can be used to extract audio from video in a snap:
1. Download and Install Clone2Go Free Audio Converter
2. Add MP4 File
Click the “Add Media Files” button to import MP4 files. Alternatively, you can click “File -> Add Media Files…” to add MP4 files. You can also directly drag and drop MP4 files to the left panel of the program.
3. Choose MP3 as Output Format
From the “Profile” drop-down list, choose MP3 – MPEG Layer-3 Audio (*.mp3) as the output format.
4. Start Converting MP4 to MP3
Click the “Start Encode” button to start to convert MP4 to MP3.
Transfer iTunes songs to non-Apple music player or mobile phone
I have a little Sansa mp3 player, but my mom has an iPod. I have been downloading music from the iTunes store, but I can’t put them on my player. I realize that the songs from iTunes are .mpeg files (or something like that) and that my music player plays .mp3 files, but is there any way that I could work around this, or possibly convert my .mpeg files?
My iPod broke, so I want to buy a new mp3 player, but I was thinking that this time I might try a different brand because iPods are usually a little more on the expensive side. But I still have all my iTunes songs i already bought and was wondering if it was a huge hassle to transfer them to something else and if it might be worth it to spend the extra money on the apple brand..
The songs you purchased from iTunes store are DRM protected. In order to transfer iTunes songs to a non-Apple music player or mobile phone, you will need to get the iTunes music converted first.
If you have a blank CD disc at hand and there are not many songs that need to be converted, you can try this way:
- Insert the blank CD into your computer disc drive.
- Create a new playlist in iTunes and add songs to the playlist.
- Burn the playlist to the CD (choose Audio CD in the Burn Settings window).
- Rip the burned CD back as MP3 files in iTunes or Windows Media Player.
Then you can transfer the MP3 files to your non-Apple music player or mobile phone.
What if you have lots of songs (say 1000+) that need to be converted? You still use the above burn-and-rip method? You know, a real CD disc can only hold about 79-min music. If the average length of each song is 4 minutes, then the total length would be 4000+ minutes. And you will need more than 50 discs for burning. What a waste of money! What’s more, it is a waste of efforts to insert and eject CD discs again and again. So it is inadvisable to convert a large library of iTunes music using this method.
The software TuneClone also adopts the burn-and-rip method. However, TuneClone cleverly avoids the problem by applying the virtual CD burning technology. The conversion theory of TuneClone is very simple. It installs a virtual CD drive to users’ computers. Then while burning iTunes playlists to an audio CD, you just choose the TuneClone virtual CD drive instead of a real CD disc. So you have saved the cost of real CD discs.
Besides, TuneClone automatically detects whether the length of the playlist exceeds 79 min. If so, it will ask you whether or not to burn multiple audio CDs. After you choose Audio CDs, the burning and encoding process will get started and TuneClone will automatically divide the playlist into several folders. You can actually switch to other jobs before the conversion is completed. So you have saved time as well.
TuneClone works on both Windows and Mac OS. You can refer to the step-by-step guide below:
How to convert iTunes music to MP3 on Windows using TuneClone
How to convert iTunes music to MP3 on Mac using TuneClone
By the way, if you want to transfer iTunes music to an android phone, you can refer to the guide below:
How to sync iTunes music to Android phone
Sync iTunes Music to Android Phone in Mac OS X with WinAmp
Take note before using trial version of TuneClone Audio Converter
When you use the trial version of TuneClone Audio Converter to convert music in your iTunes library, please do not get all songs converted.
So what’s the reason?
The trial version of TuneClone Audio Converter can only output 3-min MP3 files. If you convert hundreds of iTunes songs using the trial version, the length of all output MP3 files will be cut to 3 minutes, with a “Trial” icon next to each song.
Then if you upgrade TuneClone Audio Converter from trial version to full version, the “Trial” icon will disappear in the manager screen. However, the length of all the songs saved to your computer hard drive remains as 3 minutes. You still have to delete all these 3-min files from your computer and convert all the songs in iTunes once again. What’s worse, if you have burned the music files for 7 times, you will lose the burning right.
This is very buggy. The developer of TuneClone should have reminded users of it.
So, if you are still using the trial version of TuneClone Audio Converter, please add only a few songs to the new playlist and burn this playlist to TuneClone virtual CD drive. If it feels good, you can consider paying for it to upgrade to the full version. Then simply delete the output songs converted using the trial version, register TuneClone and start converting iTunes songs with the full version.
Note: The only difference between the trial version and full version of TuneClone is that the former can convert only 3 minutes for each song while the latter has no such limit.
Clone2Go Video Converter Professional 20 Licenses Xmas Giveaway
You can now like Clone2Go on Facebook and win a free copy of Clone2Go Video Converter Professional. The rule is quite simply:
- Click the “Like” button above to become our fans.
- Leave a comment below with your email and computer OS (Windows or Mac).
- 20 winners announced on Dec 26, 2011.
- License codes (Windows or Mac) sent to your email the next day.
Here is the giveaway page: http://www.facebook.com/clone2go?sk=app_10442206389
Good Luck!
TuneClone $10 Coupon for Facebook fans
For a limited time only (before Jan 31, 2012) save $10 on TuneClone Audio Converter.
Now only $24.95 ($34.95)
To enjoy this offer, please click the link below to place the order:
Please first “Like” TuneClone on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tuneclone. Then you will get the $10 coupon code and purchase links.
Meanwhile, you can learn about how to convert iTunes music to MP3 using TuneClone.
TuneClone converts iTunes music to plain MP3 via virtual CD burning. It simulates the burning, ripping and encoding process by installing a virtual CD burner. All you need to do is burn your iTunes playlist to TuneClone’s Virtual CD Drive. TuneClone will convert iTunes music to MP3 automatically.
How to import YouTube video into iTunes
In this guide, I’d like to show you how to import YouTube video into iTunes library using Clone2Go Free Audio Converter.
1. Download and install Clone2Go Free Audio Converter
2. Visit YouTube.com and open the YouTube video you are going to download. Copy the URL of the video.
3. Click the “YouTube” button on the interface of Clone2Go Free Audio Converter.
4. In the pop up dialog of “Import Video from Internet”, paste the URL of the YouTube video you copied just now. You can add as many YouTube videos as you want.
Note: In order to transfer YouTube videos to iTunes, please choose “MP4/HD MP4″ as the output format.
5. Double click the YouTube videos one by one to get the downloading process started. The downloading status is clearly shown on the list.
6. After the status of all of them indicates “Completed”, you can get the downloaded videos by clicking the “Folder” button in the interface of the program.
Note: If you want to extract audio from the YouTube video for iTunes, you just choose MP3 from the “Profile” category to convert the downloaded YouTube video to MP3.
7. Launch iTunes. Click “File -> Add File to Library” or “File -> Add Folder to Library” to start importing the output YouTube video/audio files into iTunes library. Done!
Win a free copy of Clone2Go DVD to iPad Converter on Thanksgiving 2011
We are only 7 days away from Thanksgiving Day 2011. And we have great news for you. Clone2Go is going to give away 50 license codes to their Facebook fans on Thanksgiving. As usual, the rule is quite simple. Let’s take a look:
How to win a license code for Clone2Go DVD to iPad Converter?
1. Click the “Like” button above to become our fans.
2. Leave a comment below with your email and computer OS (Windows or Mac).
3. 50 winners announced on Thanksgiving Day.
4. License codes (Windows or Mac) sent to your email the next day.
Here is the Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/clone2go?sk=app_10442206389
Wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Day and good luck!
Slideshow+ is free for a limited time
The iPhone application Slideshow+ is now free on the iTunes app store. It is free for a limited time, so please download it quickly if you’d like to try it out. I don’t know when this offer will end (maybe next Monday). But I do know it is the last time of the time-limited offer, as the author is trying his best to add several excellent features to the next version. One of these features is the ability to directly upload the slideshow video file to Facebook and YouTube.
To download Slideshow+ to your iPhone, you just search the app store by its name “Slideshow+”.
Or you can visit the iTunes link http://itunes.apple.com/app/id462690585 to learn more about it.
Here is one of the screenshot:
How to transfer iTunes music to Kindle Fire
The Kindle Fire is a tablet computer version of Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader. It has a color 7″ multi-touch display with IPS technology and runs on a forked version of Google’s operating system (OS) Android. It includes access to the Amazon Appstore, streaming movies and TV shows, and Kindle’s e-books.
If you have lots of songs in iTunes library and want to transfer them to Kindle Fire, you will need to convert iTunes music to Kindle Fire supported audio format first.
Now, let’s take a look at content formats supported by Kindle Fire:
Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.
So, in order to play iTunes music with Kindle Fire, what you need to do is convert iTunes music m4p, m4a, aac to mp3. After you get the converted mp3 music files, you just transfer them to your Kindle Fire via USB port.
Here is the tutorial about how to convert iTunes music to mp3.
Slideshow+ for iPhone 10 Promo Codes to Giveaway
Exciting news coming once again! For iPhone users this time.
The excellent iPhone app Slideshow+ has been upgraded to version 2.2. I am glad to own 10 promo codes and I’d like to give them away to 10 lucky readers of this blog.
First, let me share some information about this app with you:
App name: Slideshow+
App iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/app/photo-slideshow-director-for/id462690585
App category: Photo & Video
App size: 8.8 MB
App current version: 2.2
App regular price: $0.99
App features: 1. Make slideshow from Picasa, Facebook, Flickr web albums easily. 2. Make photo slideshow video on iPhone easily. 3. Export to HD movie. 4. HD full screen slideshow presentation. 5. Ready for HDTV output.
How to get the promo code for free?
- Leave a comment below. Note: Please provide a valid email address (for receiving promo code) if you are not a registered user.
- 10 lucky readers will be randomly picked and announced.
- Promo codes will be sent to the 10 winners via email.
Note: The winners will be announced on Nov 11, 2011. You should hurry up if you like this app.
