How to convert DRM protected iTunes M4P music songs to MP3

The music downloaded from iTunes is DRM protected as M4P, or “protected AAC“. If you want to play this kind of music beyond Apple environment (iTunes, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV), you need to remove the DRM and convert it to (DRM free) MP3, WMA, WAV format or else.

The following guide is going to show you how to convert iTunes M4P to MP3 for non-Apple mobile players like Zune, PSP, BlackBerry, mobile phone, Creative Zen, Sansa Fuze, G1/Gphone, xbox 360, PS3. It introduces three methods for converting M4P to MP3:

1. Burning and ripping CD in iTunes (Windows & Mac)
2. Convert M4P to MP3 using TuneClone (Windows & Mac)

1. Burning and ripping CD in iTunes

a. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.
b. Burn the iTunes M4P playlist to make an Audio CD. You cannot select the “MP3 CD” option since it requires the DRM protected iTunes M4P files 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 or Windows Media Player to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 files.

2. Convert M4P to MP3 using TuneClone

Using the aboving method, you need a blank CD, the conversion speed is slow and the music’s  tag information is not transferred. TuneClone ( free download ) utilizes the virtual CD technology to convert M4P to MP3. Let’s take a look at the steps:

a. Make sure the virtual CD drive is successfully installed.

b. Choose output format in TuneClone.

c. Set burning options in iTunes.

TuneClone works on both Windows and Mac. Mac users can click http://mac.tuneclone.com

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