Online Audio Converter is a free MP4 to MP3 converter available on most browsers. Aside from converting MP4 to MP3, it can also be used to convert files to over 300 different output formats. Here’s how it works; Step 1: Upload the MP4 file into the program. Step 2: Choose MP3 as the output format and choose the desired quality of the output file. Apowersoft Free Video to MP3. Apowersoft is another powerful, safe, high-performance online video to MP3 converter for Mac. It does a great job of converting local videos to MP3s in a number of formats, such as MP4, AVI, MKV, etc. It also allows you to convert video to MP3 from sites like YouTube, Facebook, etc. My Mp4 to Mp3 Converter is the simplest and easiest way to convert a mp4 file into a mp3 file. All you need to do is to select the file and tap on 'Convert' button. Important note: This App has a 7 days free trial. After the trial the app can be used with a monthly subscription. Convert M4P to MP3 with a file friendly and completely free online M4P converter, and make your files available on every Mac or Windows device. Free MP4 to MP3 Converter (64-bit) Free. Convert M4A, MP4, M4B, M4R, and AAC files to MP3 or WAV formats.
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If you think about it, just a decade or so ago, file formats were really important. People were discussing the differences between various file compressions and you often had to install an app extension if you wanted it to run a certain file format.
It seems that everything changed with the iPhone gaining mainstream popularity. Since all files were now hosted within apps, we never came across any incompatibility issues. Similarly, with more of our work moving to the web, it’s stored within appropriate software right away, so we don’t have to deal with file formats.
Still, occasionally, you might encounter a file that you can’t open or that you’d like to convert an audio file to another format. One of the most frequent issues for Mac users, for example, is dealing with M4A files, which you often want to convert to MP3s. So let’s discuss briefly what is M4A format and where you can find the best M4A to MP3 converter today.
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What Is M4A And How To Use It
You might be more familiar with M4A files if you think of them as MP4s, which they essentially are — the only difference is that an MP4 file can handle video while .m4a is for audio only.
MP4 (also known as MPEG-4) is in turn based on QuickTime File Format (QTFF) and, in some sense, was developed to replace MP3. M4A files, for example, are generally smaller in size and can store audio in better quality than MP3s. Their only downside is that M4A players are much harder to find, whereas MP3 is one of the most universal audio formats out there.
So where can you stumble upon the .m4a format? Mostly in Apple’s own iTunes Store, as it’s the default file extension for song downloads, which is then encoded with AAC for reduced file size or ALAC for lossless audio. However, copyrighted songs might also come in the .m4p format, which is a variant of .m4a.
All this leads us to the question of how do you play M4A vs MP3 on Mac and what’s the easiest way to convert file to MP3?
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How to play M4A files on Mac
As already mentioned above, a lot of the M4A files you’d come across are from the iTunes Store, so naturally you’d be able to play them on iTunes as well (or the Music app from macOS Catalina onward). You can drag and drop any M4A file into Music and it’ll be added to your library.
In addition to Music, or iTunes, M4A files also work with QuickTime Player (since they are based on QuickTime File Format), which is one of the default apps you can find in your Applications folder. While QuickTime is mostly used for playing movies, it has a standard audio playback functionality built into it as well. But what if you’re after a great .m4a audio experience?
Play M4A on Mac
With Elmedia Player, you don’t have to convert your M4A file to other formats. Just hit the play button.
Elmedia Player is one of the most versatile audio and video players out there. Not only can it easily play a variety of M4A files and MP4 formats, it lets you stream content directly from the web and watch online videos (e.g. from YouTube) without ads as well. What’s more you can stream to any smart TV or AirPlay-enabled device and completely control the way subtitles are displayed.
How to convert M4A to MP3 using iTunes
While there are quite a few M4A players available on Mac, whether via default or third-party apps, you might often need to convert M4A to MP3 iTunes format to make it more widely available — so you can easily port music or audiobooks to virtually any device.
Surprisingly, there’s a way to use iTunes as an audio file converter, although not many people know about it, since it’s not that straightforward. Regardless, here’s how you can convert file to MP3 using iTunes:
Launch iTunes (or the new Music app)
Open Preferences (⌘ + ,)
Navigate to Files ➙ Import Settings…
Change Import Using to MP3 Encoder ➙ OK
Drag and drop your M4A file into iTunes
Select it and then go File ➙ Convert ➙ Create MP3 Version
Find the new file created in your library (the old file will still be intact)
In a similar fashion, you can change the default iTunes encoder to create WAV, lossless, AIFF, and AAC files. Overall, iTunes is a good enough M4A converter and general file converter to MP3 if you only need to convert one or two songs occasionally. For more regular conversions, there are much more efficient apps out there.
A better way to convert M4A to MP3 on Mac
If iTunes can be a decent M4A to MP3 converter, you might also wonder what other specialized apps can do an even better job?
Permute is a pro-level and truly universal media converter. This blazing fast app allows you to drag and drop any number of files into it and get converted results in seconds. Transform audio, video (or video to audio), images, and more — possible combinations are nearly endless! You can even merge two videos into one or add a subtitle track on the fly.
To use Permute as a M4A to MP3 converter:
Launch Permute
Drag and drop your M4A file onto the app's window
Select MP3 in the Audio dropdown
Click the Start icon
You can find the MP3 result on your Desktop. Repeat as necessary, and don’t forget that Permute can handle as many files at once as you want — you can use this audio file converter to transform whole albums too.
In the end, most of the time nowadays, we don’t have to deal with file formats and can find the appropriate app relatively easy. In the case with M4A files, you can use iTunes (Music) and QuickTime to play them, but better switch your default media to Elmedia Player altogether. And if you ever need a file converter to MP3, look no further than Permute.
Best of all, Elmedia Player and Permute are available to you at absolutely no cost for seven days via the trial of Setapp, a platform with more than 200 top-tier Mac apps across all categories, from productivity (2Do) to following your favorite blogs (News Explorer). Try them all today for free and discover a whole new world of opportunities.
Can I Convert MP4 to MP3 Using VLC?
Yes, you can. It’s you who has not exhausted all the features that VLC offers. Dozens of apps out their claim that they can do the work better, but the VLC is trusted software that is not scummy. Unlike other unknown apps that can infect your computer with a virus, the VLC is legit software that can get the work done. Then let's check the article to figure out how to convert MP4 to MP3.
- Part 3. Convert MP4 to MP3 with the Best VLC Alternative(Can't Miss!)
Get the Best MP4 to MP3 Video Converter - UniConverter
- High-Speed Conversion – Convert MP4 to MP3 at 90X faster speed than other video converters with zero quality loss.
- Compatibility with Formats – Convert video, audio and DVD files with UniConverter to more than 150 video/audio formats.
- Lossless Conversion – Support to convert lossless all videos with H.264 encoder which leads the video converter market.
- Customize Video by editing – Personalize your video without using external editors, such as Trim, Crop, add Effects, Watermarks and Subtitles with ease.
- Convert Online Videos – Download or record video from 1,000+ online streaming sites, then convert or save to a destination of your choice.
- Burn Video to DVD – Get your videos stored on DVD, or copy as backup and then send them to Facebook, Vimeo and YouTube.
- Transfer to Devices – Transfer converted MP4/MP3 or other videos and audio files to mobile devices with a USB cable.
Part 1: How to Convert MP4 to MP3 with VLC
The freeway on how to convert MP4 to MP3 is through your VLC media player. VLC is an ‘all playing’ media player that is compatible with almost all the media formats and all the devices in this space. It’s easy to use and almost every person has this player already on his device.
Step 1. Launch your VLC media player. Click on the Media tab and it will open a dropdown menu. Select 'Convert/Save'.
Step 2. This will open a new window with many tabs. On this window, under the File tab, click 'Add' and select the MP4 file to convert to MP3. At this point, you can select a video or audio of any format and convert it to one of the many formats supported by VLC Media Converter. However, for this guide, we will be converting MP4 to MP3 file.
Step 3. Once you’ve selected the MP4 file that you want to convert, click 'Open'. This will load the video into VLC for conversion. Click on 'Convert/Save'.
Step 4. Now in this next window, choose the settings for the output file. From the dropdown menu find MP3 and click on it. Give a destination path by browsing to the folder where you want to save the MP3 file and type in a name for it. Once done, click on 'Start'.
Step 5. Now VLC will start the conversion of your file format. Do not disturb the player. Depending upon the size of your source file (MP4), it might take a few minutes to create an MP3 file.
VLC is ideal for any media format conversions. It’s a legit software that is completely safe to install and provides the best of quality and many advanced features.
Part 2. How to Convert MP4 to MP3 on Mac using VLC
Just like the Windows PC, you can also convert MP4 to MP3 on your Mac system using VLC player. However, the process and method are slightly different from that of the Window PC. Below is a step-by-step process for converting MP4 files to MP3 on Mac using VLC.
Step 1. Launch the VLC player and select media and click on convert/save.
Step 2. Once the above step is completed, a new window will open where you will have to select add and choose the file to be converted to MP3.
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Step 3. This is the stage when you select the format you want the original file to be converted to. In this context, it is Audio MP3, this selection will be made on the profile drop-down menu and click on browse to set an output directory.
Step 4. Once you are through with the above step, you will be guided to a window where you will save the file, select an output folder and rename the MP3 file. After performing all the required action in this window, click on done and you will be taken to the previous screen.
Step 5. After completing the above step, press start and the conversion process will start. Depending on the size of the file, it may take a while for the process to be completed.
Part 3: Convert MP4 to MP3 with the Best VLC Alternative (Can't Miss!)
UniConverter is a simple, yet functional MP4 to MP3 converter designed to prepare media files in popular formats for publishing on the internet, or play on the mobile devices, like iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android and Creative Zen among others. The same converter also supports AVCHD, AVCHD Lite, and MOD/TOD.
Get the Best MP4 to MP3 Video Converter - UniConverter
- High-Speed Conversion – Convert MP4 to MP3 at 90X faster speed than other video converters with zero quality loss.
- Compatibility with Formats – Convert video, audio and DVD files with UniConverter to more than 150 video/audio formats.
- Lossless Conversion – Support to convert lossless all videos with H.264 encoder which leads the video converter market.
- Customize Video by editing – Personalize your video without using external editors, such as Trim, Crop, add Effects, Watermarks and Subtitles with ease.
- Convert Online Videos – Download or record video from 1,000+ online streaming sites, then convert or save to a destination of your choice.
- Burn Video to DVD – Get your videos stored on DVD, or copy as backup and then send them to Facebook, Vimeo and YouTube.
- Transfer to Devices – Transfer converted MP4/MP3 or other videos and audio files to mobile devices with a USB cable.
Quick Steps to Convert MP4 to MP3 Using UniConverter
Step 1. Load MP4 files to this MP4 to MP3 converter
To add videos, drag and drop video files to UniConverter MP4 to MP3 converter. Or you can select the 'Add Files' button on the top left of the main window to import MP4 files to the converter. This MP4 to MP3 converter also supports directly load from your mobile devices, just click the drop icon to see more options.
Step 2. Choose MP3 as output format
Once you imported the MP4 files to the converter, select the output video or audio format from the format tray on the left side. In our case, we are converting MP4 to MP3. Select the MP3 format under the Audio menu. Conversion of MP4 to MP3 using UniConverter is not only quick and efficient but also makes the video conversion for your portable devices as easy as A, B, C, D!
Step 3. Start Converting MP4 to MP3
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Return to the main interface of the video converter and click on the 'Start All' or 'Convert' button to start the conversion process from MP4 to MP3. Soon you will get an MP3 file from your MP4 video without any loss.