How to Convert iTunes M4P Music/M4B Audiobooks to MP3

By Sarah ConnorUpdated on August 11, 2023

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Summary:

Do you want to transfer and play iTunes music & audiobooks, Apple Music songs on any non-Apple devices? This article introduce 3 ways to convert iTunes M4P Music, iTunes M4B Audiobooks and Apple Music M4P tracks to MP3 format compatible with any music device and players.

“How do I convert M4P to MP3 without iTunes? Can I use a M4P to MP3 Converter to convert protected iTunes to MP3? Thanks.”

“Can M4B be converted to MP3? How to convert iTunes M4B Audiobooks to MP3 so that I can listen to iTunes audiobooks on my iPod Nano 5th.”

The answers to the above questions are “Yes”. This article will introduce different methods to convert iTunes M4P and M4B files to MP3 for using on any non-Apple devices freely.

• Part 1. What is M4P, M4B? Why Convert iTunes M4P/M4B to MP3?
• Part 2. Convert iTunes M4P/M4B to MP3 with UkeySoft Apple Music Converter
• Part 3. Convert Unprotected M4P/M4B to MP3 with iTunes
• Part 4. Convert Unprotected M4P/M4B to MP3 with VLC Media Player

Part 1. What is M4P, M4B? Why Convert iTunes M4P/M4B to MP3?

M4P, M4B are all audio formats created by Apple Inc. M4P was mainly used for music file formats, such as older iTunes protected songs and Apple Music songs, while M4B is an audiobook from the iTunes store. Both of them are encoded by AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). The digital content in iTunes is protected by Apple’s FairPlay DRM. By the way, Apple Inc also used unprotected M4A format in some iTunes music and audiobooks.

To sum up, iTunes DRM Audio, including iTunes M4P music, iTunes M4B Audiobooks and the current Apple Music, which are encrypted with a good intention to protect the Digital Right Management (DRM) of the digital content and stop transferring or playing on other unauthorized devices, these encryption files are all in M4P format, a specially designed format with DRM protection.

Under the protection of a proprietary DRM technology created, iTunes M4P audio is playable only on some specifically authorized devices. In this case, if you want to play DRM-ed iTunes M4P music, iTunes M4B audiobooks on unauthorized devices like MP3 player, iPod, Sony Walkman,etc, you need to bypass iTunes DRM restrictions and convert iTunes M4P Music and M4B Audiobooks to MP3 audio formats to compatible with any devices.

Part 2. Convert iTunes M4P/M4B to MP3 with UkeySoft Apple Music Converter

UkeySoft Apple Music Converter is a one-stop iTunes Music Converter, Audiobook to MP3 Converter, as well as Apple Music Converter. With its excellent and powerful features, it becomes the best M4P to MP3 Converter on the market. Specifically, it can convert all audio that can be played in iTunes, including Apple Music M4P songs, purchased iTunes M4A, M4P music, iTunes M4A, M4B audiobooks and Audible AA, AAX audiobooks! With it, you can easily remove DRM from iTunes music and audibooks, and convert iTunes M4P music, M4B Audiobooks to DRM-free MP3, M4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV, AC3, AIFF, etc. at up to 10X faster speed with original quality. Even better, it will keep original ID3 tags and metadata in output MP3 files.

What’s more, it also enables you remove DRM protection from Apple Music songs, iTunes TV shows, movies and Audible Audiobooks and convert them to DRM-free MP3 and other popular formats losslessly. After getting the DRM-free iTunes music and audiobooks, you can transfer them to any other device and player for offline playing without limits, such as MP3 player, iPod Nano/Classic/Shuffle/Touch, Sony Walkman, SanDisk MP3 player, PS3, PS4, PS5, PSP, Xbox, iOS device, Android phones and tablets, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, etc.

Features of UkeySoft iTunes M4P/M4B to MP3 Converter:
– Remove DRM from iTunes music and iTunes audiobooks.
– Convert iTunes M4P songs and M4B audiobooks to MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, etc.
– Convert both DRM-ed Apple Music songs to MP3/AAC/FLAC/WAV/M4A, etc. losslessly.
– Convert Audible AA, AAX audiobooks to MP3, M4A for listening on any devices.
– Maintains original ID3 tags, metadata and chapter info after conversion.
– Customize codec, sample rate, bitrate, channel, etc, and edit ID3 tags and metadata.
– Up to 10X or 16X faster speed with lossless quality. ( Windows Vs. Mac )

Tutorial: Convert iTunes M4P Music and M4B Audiobooks to MP3

Step 1.Run Apple Music Converter

Download and install Apple Music Converter on your computer or Mac. Then, run the program from the desktop icon. iTunes will be opened at the same time automatically.
The start screen shows all the list of iTunes library locations on the left panel, audio tracks and track information at the center and output conversion settings on the bottom panel.

Step 2.Choose iTunes M4P Music and M4B Audiobooks

Click the “Music” or “Audiobooks” in the left column, then you can select iTunes music and audiobooks that you want to convert. The program supports batch conversion so you can choose a few Playlists, or select a few songs. So you can add songs, albums or playlists to your iTunes Library in advance.

Note: If you cannot find the music you want to convert, you can search it. And please make sure that you have downloaded and saved the Apple Music tracks you want on computer.

Step 3.Select MP3 as Output Format

Click the “Setting” button on the main interface, and then there will be a pop-up window which allows you to set output path and output audio format. If you do not change output path, the output audio will save in the default folder. Output format as MP3, WAV, FLAC or M4A are available when converting Apple Music songs and iTunes M4P music. While M4B is available when converting iTunes M4A/M4B audiobooks and Audible AA/AAX audiobooks.

In addition, you can also specify the location for saving output MP3 files. as well as adjust the output parameters. Here we suggest you set the bitrate as 256kbps which is the Apple Music bitrate. By doing so, you can keep the original quality.

Step 4.Start Converting iTunes M4P/M4B to MP3

When finish customization, click “Convert” button to start converting DRM-ed iTunes M4P songs and M4B audiobooks to MP3 with high quality.

Once complete, you can click the “Explore output File” button to locate the DRM-free iTunes songs in MP3 format.

Part 3. Convert Unprotected M4P/M4B to MP3 with iTunes

If you want to convert iTunes M4P or M4B to MP3 files for free, then you can do it on iTunes. Please note that you can only convert non-DRM M4P, M4B files to MP3. To convert DRM-ed iTunes audios, the best way is to use UkeySoft Apple Music Converter.

Step 1. Launch iTunes program on your Mac or PC, tap “Edit” > “Preferences”, then click “Import Settings”.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select “MP3 Encoder” in the “Import Using:” option, and set the audio quality in “Setting:” option according to your needs. Then click “OK”.

Step 3.Select the “Audiobooks” or “Music” you want to convert, then click “File” > “Convert” > “Create MP3 Version”.

Step 4. When it finishes, then converted MP3 files will be saved in your library.

Extra Tips: To convert DRM-ed iTunes M4P, M4B to MP3, you can burn the protected M4P/M4B files onto a CD (set MP3 format), and then re-import them into iTunes as unprotected audios. But this method requires you to spend a lot of money to buy CDs, because most audiobooks are long files, so you can consider using UkeySoft Apple Music Converter to directly convert M4P, MAB to MP3 audio!

Part 4. Convert Unprotected M4P/M4B to MP3 with VLC Media Player

To convert M4P to MP3 without iTunes, you can use VLC Media Player. Similarly, this method can only convert unprotected M4P and M4B files. You can follow the steps to convert M4B, M4P to MP3 audios.

Step 1. Run the VLC media player on your computer. Click “Media”, and choose “Convert / Save…” option. Then tap “Add” button to insert the unprotected M4B or M4P files into VLC.

Step 2. Next, click the “Arrow” icon next to the Convert / Save button, and select “Convert” to open the next pop-up.

Step 3. Select “Audio – MP3” next to Profile box. Then click the “Browse” button to select destination and file name.

Step 4. Finally, hit “Start” button to begin converting M4B to MP3 audios.

Conclusion

The above are some effective methods that can be used to convert iTunes M4P and M4B files to MP3 format. Compare with iTunes and VLC media player, there is no doubt that UkeySoft Apple Music Converter is the best iTunes, M4P/M4B to MP3 Converter. With it, users can quickly and losslessly convert any iTunes M4P songs and M4B audiobooks to MP3, M4A, AAC and other audio formats without any quality loss. In addition, it also supports to convert Apple Music M4P songs, Audible AA, AAX Audiobooks to MP3, etc. After conversion, you can transfer the converted MP3 files to SD card or burn the MP3 songs/audiobooks to CD to play in your car, or put them on any device and player for listening. You can download this great tool to test its performance!

Related Article

• How to Convert Purchased Apple Music to MP3
• How to Convert M4P iTunes Music to MP3 on Mac
• How to Remove DRM from iTunes Music
• How to Convert iTunes Videos,Movie,TV Shows to MP4
• How to Convert iTunes M4V Video to MP4

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