M4A to MP3 Conversion

[Walrussell]

Does anyone know how to convert purchased ITunes music downloads to MP3 format so I can listen to them with my other MP3's

[fo3nix]

If you have downloaded the music using an older version of iTunes (4.x), then you can use JHymn:
http://www.hymn-project.org

If you have the latest version of iTunes, then I'm afraid there's no way as yet to convert them. This is why I tell people on here not to buy from the iTunes Music Store, or most of the other digital music sellers. So, don't buy anything more from iTunes.

For very cheap legal (with a loophole) downloads, in pretty much any format you like, try this:
http://www.allofmp3.com

I'd recommend downloading the FLACs if you want the highest audio possible (just the same as the CD the music came from), which you can then convert easily to mp3 or similar, and archive the FLAC files.

[MTIH1992]

use freeware WavePad. Search it in google

[fo3nix]

Well yea that sort of thing is the other option, but I think I'm right in saying that it's not digitally decoding and encoding the audio, just passing it through your sound card and recording whatever it hears. Perhaps good enough, but you still shoulnd't have to resort to that sort of method.

Another thing you can do, again not truly converting digitally, but it'll probably do: burn your protected iTunes purchased songs onto audio CDs, and then put them back into iTunes as mp3s. (goto edit->preferences to make sure that it'll burn the CDs as audio CDs, and encode audio CDs as mp3s)

[Walrussell]

Thanks for these, still working through this but not much success so far, keep telling me that I can't do it cos they are protected. Think I will rebuy them from somewhere else as MP3's

thanks for your help