The M4A music or track file extension is the default Apple file extension used for music stored in MP4 format on the iTunes multimedia player. Apple deployed the file extension in order to allow iDevices to more quickly recognize what type of MP4 file was being loaded (video or audio) in order to create a faster load time and better end-user experience when playing music stored in this format. For users who have one or many songs store in the legacy MP3 format, a common task that arises is converting MP3 to M4A format. Although there are a number of free and shareware applications on the market such the 4Musics Multiformat Conversion software, a number of end users prefer to use iTunes to convert MP3 tracks to M4A.

Steps to Convert MP3 to M4A (Using iTunes)

Step 1 – Download and install the iTunes media player on your computer if not already installed.

Step 2 – Launch the iTunes media player by double clicking the program icon on the computer’s desktop or by selecting from the “Program Files” submenu of the computer’s “Start” menu.

Step 3 – Select the “File” and “Add File to Library” menu options. Alternatively, if you have an entire folder of MP3 files to convert, you can select the “Add Folder to Library” menu option. Note, if the MP3 files are already added to your computer’s iTunes library you will not want to perform this step as it may result in duplicate tracks being store in the library of the MP3 file extension.

Step 4 – Click the “Music” menu tab located on the left-hand side of the iTunes player.

Step 5 – Right click on a Windows computer or “Ctrl” click the music track to convert to M4A format.

Step 6– Select the “Create AAC Version” menu option on the file menu. This will create a music track with the .M4A file extension; however, it will not remove the MP3 version.

Step 7 – Observe the “Converting” menu status label on the lower, left-hand panel on the iTunes media player. When the conversion is complete, you will see an indication in this location.

Step 8 – Convert multiple music tracks by keeping the “CTRL” key pressed and left or single click (on a Mac) the additional MP3 files that you desire to convert and repeat steps 6 and 7.

Step 9 – Create a playlist with the new music files in M4A format by selecting “File” and “New Playlist” from the main iTunes menu. Then, drag the newly converted files to the playlist located on the left-hand side of the iTunes screen.

Convert MP3 to M4A With 4Musics Mutiformat Software

Step 1 – Download and install the 4Musics application on your computer.

Step 2 – Launch the program and select the “Add” menu button. Choose the menu option to convert a single music track or an entire folder.

Step 3 – Select the MP3 files using the application dialogue box that automatically launches using the file chooser. Then, click the “Open” menu button which will automatically add the tracks to the file conversion listing.

Step 4 – Change the format type in the “Output Format” menu option to “M4A. The bit rate, mode, and sample rate can also be adjusted if you are an advanced user; however, they are set to standard settings that suffice for the majority of users or you can choose a preset option from the dropdown menu on the menu.

Step 5 – Choose an output destination or folder to save the M4A files in the “Destination” menu option.

Step 6 – Click the “Start” menu button and the application will convert MP3 to M4A.