# Can I Convert WMA to MP3?



## Amie (Jun 19, 2006)

All my music files are MP3s except for one, which is an WMA file. How can I convert this to MP3 so that it will be compatible with my iTunes and iPod?


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## sinclair_tm (Jun 20, 2006)

drag it into itunes, and it will convert it for you.  thats if its not protected.  if its protected, then you need to use a windows computer and have win media player burn it to an audio cd, and then have itunes rip the cd.


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## Tommo (Jun 20, 2006)

I think that will only work on the PC version of iTunes. You could try EasyWMA, but it does not bring the ID3 tags across with the conversion.


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## dalo (Jun 20, 2006)

Iven if it's 100% correct and true, I've been thinking of this lately. How come one version (platform specific) is able to convert in this way around, but not the other? I thought iTunes were iTunes, no matter what platform. How can this be?


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## Amie (Jun 20, 2006)

I already tried dragging it to iTunes. Nothing happened. I guess that means it's protected? I have no idea. How do you check?

If I install EasyWMA, can I convert it to MP3 format--even if it's protected? And I have no idea what "ID3 tags" are.


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## dalo (Jun 20, 2006)

Amie said:
			
		

> I already tried dragging it to iTunes. Nothing happened. I guess that means it's protected? I have no idea. How do you check?
> 
> If I install EasyWMA, can I convert it to MP3 format--even if it's protected? And I have no idea what "ID3 tags" are.



Wikipedia suggests that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID3_tag) *ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, or other information about the file to be stored in the file itself.*


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## nixgeek (Jun 20, 2006)

dalo said:
			
		

> *ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, or other information about the file to be stored in the file itself.*
> 
> :
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID3_tag




Make sure it's described in one sentence.....nothing more. 

Sorry, Amie.....I had to rib ya a little there...  ::angel::


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## sinclair_tm (Jun 20, 2006)

do you have the lastest version of itunes?  and yes both versions (mac & win) will convert unprotected wma files.  now, you've doubled checked your library to make sure there is no new tracks?  if it were protected, itunes should tell you so.


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## fryke (Jun 20, 2006)

Just a reminder: Even *if* you manage to transcode from WMA to MP3 somehow, you'll lose quality. If it's an important song, I'd consider buying the CD or the track from iTunes.


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## Amie (Jun 20, 2006)

nixgeek said:
			
		

> Make sure it's described in one sentence.....nothing more.
> 
> Sorry, Amie.....I had to rib ya a little there...  ::angel::


OK, as much as I hate to admit it, I just burst out laughing when I read your jab. YOU are SUCH a brat.


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## Amie (Jun 20, 2006)

sinclair_tm said:
			
		

> do you have the lastest version of itunes?  and yes both versions (mac & win) will convert unprotected wma files.  now, you've doubled checked your library to make sure there is no new tracks?  if it were protected, itunes should tell you so.


That's really odd. I just checked the Software Update and it's telling me that I'm up to date. So, I guess that means that I have the latest version of iTunes. Yet, when I drag the WMA file into iTunes, it does absolutely nothing. No alert, no conversion, no message, zip.


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## Amie (Jun 20, 2006)

fryke said:
			
		

> Just a reminder: Even *if* you manage to transcode from WMA to MP3 somehow, you'll lose quality. If it's an important song, I'd consider buying the CD or the track from iTunes.


If the song was available on CD or for sale, I'd definitely buy it.

What do you mean "if"? Sounds like a rather easy process what with all the conversion software apps like EasyWMA.


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## dalo (Jun 20, 2006)

sinclair_tm said:
			
		

> do you have the lastest version of itunes?  and yes both versions (mac & win) will convert unprotected wma files.  now, you've doubled checked your library to make sure there is no new tracks?  if it were protected, itunes should tell you so.



According to the Wikipedia iTunes page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itunes)

_The Windows version of iTunes can automatically convert unprotected WMA (including version 9) files to other audio formats, but it does not support direct playback or encoding of WMA format._

It kind of give me the imprssion that it was a Mac OS iTunes feat. Only.

I was frustrated about this a while bacl, its over noe, I know. But WHY was it like thath? Mac people had WMA files too! What was their argument! Pisses me off


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## Amie (Jun 20, 2006)

1. I still have no idea WHY nothing happens when I drag the WMA file to iTunes. 

2. If I insall an app like EasyWMA, will that solve all my WMA-to-MP3 problems?


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## Mikuro (Jun 20, 2006)

When Apple first released iTunes for Windows, WMA conversion definitely was a Windows-only feature. Apple's iTunes web page doesn't state that it's a Windows-only feature at this point, but I've never heard that it changed, and their support article still says:





> Note: When you add unprotected WMA files to your iTunes library (Windows only), iTunes converts them to new files that iTunes can play, based on your import settings.



So, you'll need another app to do the conversion. EasyWMA or ffmpegX will do the job nicely. VLC could probably also do it. ffmpegX is a bit of a pain to install, though, and even VLC is a hassle to use. So I recommend EasyWMA.

As with any type of audio, when you convert a WMA to mp3, you WILL lose quality. You could convert it to an AIFF or some other lossless format to maintain the full quality of the WMA. EasyWMA allows WAV output, which I think is lossless. (Of course, this will result in a file many times larger than an mp3 would be.)


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## dalo (Jun 21, 2006)

I love the iTunes application, but I have to say that this was *the* most stuping thing I've ever heard about it, even if it is the only thing. As if wma files was tied to the Windows platform just because Windows media player is more common on it. Embarrassing.


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## MBP (May 28, 2009)

Hi

Old thread but it came up when in Google and nobody provided the following answer that has worked for me.

You need to download the free WMV add on for Quicktime. You can get it from the Micro$@#t website:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=915D874D-D747-4180-A400-5F06B1B5E559&displaylang=en

Once installed you can open WMA/WMV with Quicktime. 

Open the files with Quicktime and choose File > Export > Audio to AIF. You can then drag the AIF's into iTunes and they'll be imported into your library.


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## fryke (May 28, 2009)

Since iTunes converts them by itself nowadays, I don't think this step is necessary any longer for WMAs and iTunes at least (which the thread is about). All of this still doesn't mean that DRM-protected files could be opened, of course.


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## MBP (May 28, 2009)

Itunes didn't import the WMA's for me, hence me searching for a way to convert in the first place. 

This worked for me. Latest os10 and latest iTunes in May 2009. 

My wma's were maybe protected???


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## Amie (Jun 3, 2009)

Wow. This is an old thread. Yeah, I have WMP now. Works fine for all the video files that QuickTime doesn't handle. So now I've got both.


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## chicvege (Feb 12, 2010)

I had the same problem with .wma, have no idea if they are unprotected or not.

I read somewhere about using Switch to convert .wma to .mp3. So I downloaded both Switch and Flip4Mac (which was required to be had at the same time) but it seems to convert anything BUT .wma. Anyhow, the Flip4Mac plugin allowed me to open the .wma in Quicktime and I tried saving it on Quicktime into an iPhone format, then open it with iTunes. It worked! Hope this helps.


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## jason Terry (Aug 11, 2010)

Amie said:


> All my music files are MP3s except for one, which is an WMA file. How can I convert this to MP3 so that it will be compatible with my iTunes and iPod?



Hello&#65292;Amie!!!
based on what you say,i think you are a music fan too.I always enjoy music fun since i bought my ipod nano.My dear friend told me a better converter like iTunes called iPod Video Converter,which is definitely a good choice for you to convert kinds of videos to iPod video files on the new iPod range: iPod Touch, iPod Video Nano and of course the new iPod Classic. Being powerful but easy to use, It enables you to convert all popular audio and video files, such as AVI, MPEG, MOV, MP4, VOB, DivX, XviD, AAC, AC3, MP3 ect. to MPEG 4 and H.264 Video, MP3 and WAV audio that can be playable on iPod family.


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## shelby49 (Oct 7, 2010)

i came to this article looking to transfer a WMA to a MP3 file and i found that the program AVS was a fast free download and quick transfer


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## James cuck (Oct 19, 2010)

I found Daniusoft WMA MP3 Converter is a better choice.Like it can convert DRM WMA to MP3 or other audio formats including m4a, ac3, aac, wma, wav, ogg, ape. And extract audio track from DRM WMV and play the original video music on different players such as iPod, PSP, Zune, Creative Zen, Archos etc. And high conversion speed is another highlight.


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## XNTH (Oct 10, 2011)

The easiest way is going to be burning the WMA file onto a CD as an audio CD not a data CD and then re-importing the newly created audio CD into iTunes.  You will need Windows Media Player to create the audio CD.


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