Converting Audio File Formats - wma to mp3

If you want to publish an audio file to iTunes U, the recommended file format is mp3. However, you may have your audio in different formats, such as wav or wma. Olympus digital voice recorder records audio in wma format and iPod records audio in wav format.

Converting Audio Using iTunes - Windows only

• First, make sure the output format is set to mp3.
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• In menu, click on "Edit" and find "Preferences". Select "Advanced" tab and go on "Importing" tab inside the "Advanced" tab.
• There is a field "Import Using". Click on the small arrow next to it and in the menu, select "MP3 Encoder"
• Click "OK" and try to convert your files again.

• Now, simply drag the WMA files into your iTunes library. In the pop-up window, confirm that you want to convert the files by clicking the "Convert" button.

• The mp3 file is placed in your "iTunes Music" folder located in "My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music" by default. You can right click on the new song in iTunes library and select "Show in Windows Explorer" to locate the file.

• Once you have an mp3 file, you may want to edit it using Audacity. For instructions, follow our Audacity Tutorial.

Converting Audio Using QuickTime Pro, Audacity and iTunes- MAC only

• To play a wma file on Mac, you will need VLC Player (free) or QuickTime player (free) with Flip4Mac component (free) installed.
• To publish a wma file on "Union College on iTunes U", you must convert wma file to mp3.
• To convert wma file to mp3, you will need QuickTime Pro ($30), Audacity (free), and/or iTunes (free).
• Open wma file in QuickTime Pro.
• Click on "File" - "Export". In the pop-up window, select "Sound to AIFF" option in the "Export" field. Locate the output folder and click "Save".

• Now, we have the file in AIF format which can be converted to mp3 using Audacity or iTunes.
• If you wish to edit the recording, you may now open it in Audacity, edit it and then export it as mp3. Follow our Audacity Tutorial.
• If you do not want to do any editing, you can use iTunes to convert the AIF file to mp3. Open iTunes and drag the file to iTunes. It should appear in the list. Control+click on the file and select "Convert Selection to mp3".

• If there is no "Convert Selection to mp3", follow this procedure:
  • In menu, click on "iTunes" and find "Preferences". Select "Advanced" tab and go on "Importing" tab inside the "Advanced" tab.
  • There is a field "Import Using". Click on the small arrow next to it and in the menu, select "MP3 Encoder" (see the very first picture of this tipsheet).
  • Click "OK" and try to convert your files again.