Converting Songs with iTunes

I've had a few questions about how to convert music files (from MP4 to MP3, or WAV to AAC, etc.). A lot of programs are floating around the internet, most of which are very limited shareware versions. A lot of them mess up the converted songs with "DEMO Version" throughout the song. There are a bunch of really nice free programs to convert specific file formats. The problem is that these usually only work for a very limited range of file formats. Why not just use software that's (most likely) already on your computer?

iTunes has a great CD ripping feature. It even lets you pick the file format for these imports. If you have a WAV version of a song, but need an MP3 of it, iTunes will do it for you! [The following steps are for PC versions of iTunes, but Mac versions should be pretty similar.]

1. Open up iTunes
2. Open the Preferences window

• Edit -> Preferences...
3. Click on the Import Settings button

4. Use the drop-down menu to select the format you want to convert your music to. The most common format is MP3.

5. (Optional) Use the second drop-down menu to customize format settings
6. OK your way out of the settings (Click the OK buttons)
7. Select the songs you wish to convert to the format you just picked (MP3)
8. Click on the Advanced menu and select Create [format] Version

9. The songs will be converted! This doesn't take too long at all.

10. Once finished, your songs will [should] be in the same folder as the original versions.