How to Convert Apple Music to M4A

By Sarah ConnorUpdated on July 27, 2022

---

Summary:

Want to convert your downloaded Apple Music songs to M4A? Looking for a way to convert iTunes M4P music to M4A? This article will teach you how to bypass Apple FairPlay DRM and convert iTunes M4P & Apple Music M4P songs to DRM-free M4A with Apple Music converter.

Is there any way to convert Apple Music to M4A?

Question: My iTunes Music songs are coming up as m4p format. I need them to play with m4a format for better playing in my Samsung Galaxy S8. How do I convert a song from m4a to mp3?

Answer: M4P – MPEG 4 protected audio, is a protected AAC file extension, generally used by Apple iTunes purchased songs with DRM protected, while M4A is an audio extension for unprotected AAC file. So you can’t play .m4p files on Samsung Android phone or Windows. If you want to play Apple Music on Apple products – iPhone/iPad/iPod/Apple TV/Apple Watch, you need to download Apple Music as M4A or MP3.

Read Also: How to Convert Apple Music to MP3

How to convert DRM-restricted iTunes Music files to unprotected M4A?

Due to DRM restrictions, first you should remove DRM from iTunes music and convert the iTunes music to M4A for playing iTunes M4P songs on any other of your computers, MP3 players, and Car CD players, Samsung Galaxy S21/S10/S9/S7/S8/Note 8 and so on, an iTunes M4P to M4A converter is definitely required. Apple Music Converter can work great with any DRM-ed music and audio files downloaded or purchased from iTunes Store. It assists users in removing DRM from iTunes M4P songs and converting iTunes M4P songs to M4A, as well as AAC, MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4B, etc.

Key Features of iTunes Music Converter:

• Bypass DRM encryption from iTunes M4P and Apple Music songs;
• Convert Apple Music, iTunes M4P songs to MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, M4A, M4B;
• Convert iTunes audiobooks M4B to M4A/MP3;
• Convert iTunes M4P music at 30X faster speed with ID tags kept;
• Fully compatible with the latest iTunes.

Convert Apple Music to M4A with Apple Music Converter

Step 1 Install iTunes Music Converter

Firstly, simply download and install the iTunes Music Converter on your computer or Mac. After the installation, launch the software and iTunes will be launched automatically.

Step 2 Select iTunes M4P Music

All your iTunes Library and playlists will be shown on the interface. Click Music or Playlist on the left side and select iTunes music songs you want to convert on the main interface.

Step 3 Set M4A as Output Format

Currently iTunes Music Converter supports several output formats, including MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, M4A, M4B. Choose the M4A option then you will get M4P to M4A format.

Step 4 Start Converting iTunes M4P Music to M4A

When everything is ready, you can begin converting the iTunes DRM M4P to M4A by clicking the “Convert” button.

Now you can transfer these DRM-free M4A files everywhere you want, and enjoy the music with any mobile devices, MP3 players on the go!

Convert M4P to M4A Online Free

FileZigZag converts your Apple Music M4P files to M4A files online for free, and it also support for converting documents, images, archives, ebooks, audio and video formats.

Step 1. Navigate to https://www.filezigzag.com/ in your browser.

Step 2. Click Browse for Files to open the music file you need to convert.

Step 3. Choose M4A as the output format.

Step 4. Next, you need to type in your email address to notify you of the progress.

Step 5. Click the Convert button to start converting Apple music files from M4P to M4A. After the end, you need to click the link to download the converted music.

What is M4A?

M4A is an audio file which is compressed using MPEG-4 technology which is an algorithm with lossy compression. It may store various types of audio content, such as songs, podcasts, and audiobooks.

1. Encoded with AAC or ALAC (Apple lossless audio codec)
2. No DRM protection
3. Available to play on almost all players

What is the difference between M4P and M4A?

From what Wikipedia said, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is an audio coding standard for lossy digital audio compression, which is designed to be the successor of the MP3 format. However, unlike MP3, which has a unified .mp3 extension, AAC encoded audio files can have a variety of extensions that include .aac, .m4p and .m4a. The M4A format was first introduced by Apple and M4A files are not protected.

However, protected files usually have an M4P file extension. M4P is a streaming media encoded with AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) with DRM protection and it has the following differences from M4A.

1. Encoded with AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
2. DRM-protected
3. Only play on specific players like iTunes, Apple Music

Extra Tips: Convert iTunes Songs to AAC (.M4A)

The iTunes/Apple Music app (MacOS 10.15 Catalina) can play not only iTunes purchased music and Apple Music, but also local songs. To convert iTunes M4P music to M4A, you need to use the third-party tool – UkeySoft Apple Music Converter. But if you only need to convert iTunes songs to M4A, (here means the unprotected local songs that can be played in iTunes) you can do it in iTunes/Apple Music app! Check it out:

Convert iTunes Songs to M4A on Your Mac:

Step 1. Open the Apple Music app on MacOS 10.15 Catalina or above. Go to menu bar, choose “Music” > “Preferences”.

Step 2. Tap on the “Files” > “Import Settings”. Click the menu next to Import Using, then select the AAC format, and click “OK”.

Step 3. Select the DRM-free songs in your library that you want to convert.

Step 4. Select “File” > “Convert”, then Create AAC Version.

After that, the new song AAC files appear in your library next to the original files.

Convert iTunes Songs to M4A on Your PC:

Step 1. Open iTunes on your Windows PC. In the menu bar, select “Edit” > “Preferences”.

Step 2. Tap “General” > “Import Settings”, hit the menu next to “Import Using”, then select the AAC format, and tap “OK”.

Step 3. Choose the songs in your iTunes library that you want to convert to AAC (.m4a).

Sep 4. Select “File” > “Convert”, then “Create AAC Version”.

Then you will see new song files show in your iTunes library next to the original files.

Final Words
No matter you want to convert DRM-protected iTunes music/Apple Music or unprotected iTunes songs, the best way is to use Apple Music Converter. With this powerful Apple Music Converter, you can easily convert iTunes M4P music to M4A, or convert Apple Music to M4A with high quality. Besides, it lets you convert all audios that can be played in iTunes, including Apple Music, audiobooks, iTunes music, podcasts, iTunes music videos, MP3 audios, etc.

Video Guide on Convert Apple Music M4P to M4A (Unprotected AAC)

Related Article

• How to Convert Purchased iTunes Music to MP3
• How to Convert M4P to M4A on Mac
• How to Convert iTunes Music to MP3 on Mac
• How to Play iTunes M4P, AAC, M4A Music on Samsung Galaxy

Comments

1. No comment yet. Say something...

Prompt: you need to log in before you can comment.
No account yet. Please click here to register.