In the early days of internet music stores, DRM or Digital Rights Management was a fairly popular method of preventing others from copying their own music. However, this gives its own disadvantage because many users can only play or listen to their songs through their own devices. DRM is no longer the case with many music files, but you may still have a music library with tracks protected by DRM. Fortunately, the process of removing DRM from music files is quite easy to do.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Changing Protected iTunes Music Files (M4P)
Step 1. Try buying music with an unprotected version
Apple no longer sells DRM-protected music, but songs you didn't have before 2009 may still be DRM-protected. By subscribing to iTunes Match, you can update all of these files to unprotected files, or repurchase existing songs and albums.
After you've bought back unprotected copies of your files, delete the old files from your iTunes library and download them again
Step 2. Avoid music changing programs that are said to remove DRM
Such programs are mostly just advertising tools and often come with unwanted programs. Such programs are also rarely successful in removing DRM and usually only re-record existing songs because DRM cannot be hacked.
Step 3. Insert a blank CD into the computer
If you don't want to repurchase the old songs, you can remove the protection by burning/copying the music files to a CD, and copying them back to MP3 format. You can do this through iTunes. However, there are a few caveats you should pay attention to:
- Before copying files to a CD, you need to have authorization to play protected M4P files in iTunes first.
- There will be a slight decrease in the quality of the song file.
- If you have a lot of files that need to be changed, use a CD-RW as much as possible. Otherwise, you'll need lots of blank CD-Rs. You can reuse a CD-RW up to 1,000 times which, of course, is especially useful if you have a large music library.
Step 4. Look for protected music in iTunes
iTunes default settings don't allow you to know which songs are protected. However, you can find out which songs are protected by adding the “Kind” column to the music list:
- Go to the “Music” section of iTunes and select your music library. After that, a list containing all the songs will be displayed.
- Right-click the column at the top of the list and select “Kind”.
- Click the " Kind " column to sort all the music by file format. All protected songs will be displayed with the label " Protected AAC Audio File " in the " Kind " column.
Step 5. Create a playlist in iTunes containing all the protected songs you want to convert
In order to burn/copy files to a CD via iTunes, you first need to create a playlist with the tracks of the songs you want.
- Select protected song files with a duration (total) of 80 minutes. While you can set iTunes to ensure multiple CDs in succession, only one CD will contain artist and song information. Therefore, create a separate playlist for each CD to keep track information. You will also need to copy playlists individually when using a CD-RW.
- Right click the selection and select " New Playlist from Selection ". Label the playlist with any name you like.
- Repeat the selection process for additional protected songs until you have one playlist with a maximum length of 80 minutes. Make sure that no playlist is longer than 80 minutes. Otherwise, you can't copy it to a CD.
Step 6. Right-click the first playlist and select “Burn Playlist to Disc”
After that, the copy settings window will be displayed.
- If you're notified that your computer isn't authorized to copy songs, double-click the song in your iTunes playlist and enter the Apple ID and password used to purchase the song.
- You cannot copy playlists containing songs that have been copied more than seven times. If you've copied these songs to CD more than seven times before, you can't follow this method. See the last section of this article for alternative steps you can take.
Step 7. Make sure “Audio CD” is selected and click “Burn”
iTunes will start copying the songs to the CD. The process may take about a few minutes.
If you used multiple CD-Rs to rip multiple songs, you can continue the process of copying songs to an existing CD. If you are using a CD-RW, continue the rest of the steps described to rip music to a CD, then format the CD and copy the next playlist
Step 8. Open the iTunes preferences menu
After you've copied the files to the CD, you'll need to set iTunes to import the CD tracks as high-quality MP3 files. You can do this through the iTunes preferences menu.
- Windows – Press the alt=""Image" key and click the "Edit" menu. After that, select "Preferences".</li" />
- Mac – Click the iTunes menu and select "Preferences".
Step 9. Click "Import Settings" and set the MP3 settings options
Use the following settings to get a high-quality MP3 file when you re-copy the song files from a CD that you previously copied:
- Select "MP3 Encoder" from the "Import Using" menu.
- Select "Custom" from the "Settings" menu.
- Set "Stereo Bit Rate" to "320 kbps".
- Check the "Use Variable Bit Rate Encoding (VBR)" box and set "Quality" to "Highest".
Step 10. Click the " CD " button at the top of the iTunes window
After that, the CD that has been inserted into the computer will be displayed.
Step 11. Start importing files from the CD
Click "Yes" when prompted to start the song import process. This process takes a few minutes. Once the import process is complete, you will have new, unprotected MP3 files in your iTunes library.
Since you still have the protected song files in your library, you will have duplicate songs. Use the “Kind” column to find out which files are protected and which are not, then delete the protected files
Step 12. Format your CD-RW and copy the next playlist (for CD-RW only)
If you're using only one CD-RW to convert protected song files, you'll need to format them after you've finished importing the songs stored on them into iTunes so you can copy your next playlist:
- Right-click the CD-RW icon in Windows Explorer (key combination Win+E) or Finder, then select "Format".
- Once the CD is formatted, copy the next playlist and re-import the audio files on the CD into iTunes using the instructions described earlier. Repeat the process as many times as needed.
Method 2 of 3: For Protected Windows Media Player (WMA) Music Files
Step 1. Open Windows Media Player
If you have music files purchased through Windows Media Player, it is possible that they are protected by DRM. You can remove DRM protection by burning/copying music files as audio CDs and copying them back from the CD to your computer.
Do not use programs that are said to remove DRM. Since DRM is not hackable, it is possible that such programs may not work effectively. Such programs are often accompanied by unwanted advertising tools
Step 2. Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW into the computer
By copying the music to an audio CD and copying it back to your computer, you can remove the DRM from the song file. For large music libraries, it is recommended that you use a CD-RW as you can reuse it multiple times.
Step 3. Open the library view in Windows Media Player
If the library is not already displayed in the Windows Media Player window, you can access it by pressing the Ctrl+1 key combination.
Step 4. Click the " Burn " tab on the right side of the program window
After that, a list of songs to be copied to the CD will be displayed.
Step 5. Drag the files you want to convert to the “Burn” sidebar
You can only rip files with a total length of 80 minutes for one audio CD (or less than 80 minutes on multiple CDs).
Step 6. Click the "Start burn" button once you are done adding songs
Windows Media Player will start copying the songs to the CD. This process may take about a few minutes.
If you can't rip songs to a CD due to DRM restrictions, read the next section or method
Step 7. Open the "Options" menu in Windows Media Player and adjust the settings for copying files from the audio CD (ripping settings)
You can change the Windows Media Player audio CD copy settings so that the copied songs are automatically converted to MP3 format, so you don't have to bother changing them yourself:
- Press the alt=""Image" key and click " Tool " → " Options ".</li" />
- Click the "Rip Music" tab.
- Select "MP3" from the "Format" menu.
- Slide the "Audio quality" slider to the far right. Click "Apply" to save changes.
Step 8. Click the " Rip CD " button in the Windows Media Player window after the protected music files have finished copying to the CD
After the process of copying files to the CD is complete, the CD will be ejected from the disc drive automatically. Reinsert the CD and click the " Rip CD " button to re-rip the music from the audio CD to the computer.
Step 9. Wait for the copying process to complete
Windows Media Player will start extracting the audio from the CD and converting it to MP3 format. You can find the extracted music files in the " Music " folder. These new MP3 files will not be protected by DRM.
Method 3 of 3: Changing Protected Music Using Audacity
Step 1. Download and install Audacity
If you have protected music files that can't be copied to a CD, or you don't use one of the programs mentioned earlier, you can use Audacity to re-record your music files as unprotected MP3 files. This process does take some time, but it can be followed for all files. To do this, you'll need Audacity, a free, open-source sound editing and recording program.
You can download Audacity from audacityteam.org. This program is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux
Step 2. Install the LAME MP3 encoder
Audacity cannot save audio files in this format, unless you install an MP3 encoder. LAME is one of the most popular encoders, and the Audacity program itself is designed to detect it automatically when the program is installed in a location that has been selected based on the default installation file settings:
- Download LAME from lame.buanzo.org. Make sure you download the appropriate installation file for your computer's operating system.
- Run the installation file and follow all the prompts to install LAME. Do not change the default install location so Audacity can detect the encoder automatically.
Step 3. Download and install Soundflower (for Mac only)
If you're using a Mac computer, you'll need the free Soundflower tool that allows you to record computer sound output:
- Download Download Soundflower from github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower/releases/. Make sure you download the Soundflower-2.0b2.dmg file.
- Double-click the downloaded DMG file, then double-click the PKG file. After that, Soundflower will be installed on the computer. You may need to right-click the PKG file and select " Open " if you receive a warning.
- Click the Apple menu and select "System Preferences". After that, open the “Sound” menu.
- Select " Soundflower (2ch) " on the “Output” and “Input” tabs. Make sure the sound on both tabs is turned on or turned up. At this time, you cannot hear anything from the loudspeaker because the sound output will be routed through Soundflower. In this way, Audacity can capture sound output.
Step 4. Open Audacity
You'll see a timeline of the track, as well as the play and record control buttons.
Step 5. Set up the program recording device
Use the drop-down menus on the left and right of the microphone to set the sound source you want to record:
- Windows – Select " Windows WASAPI " from the first menu, then " Speakers (Manufacturer) (loopback) " from the second menu.
- Mac - Select " Core Audio " from the first menu, then " Soundflower (2 ch) " from the second menu.
Step 6. Specify the output or output device
Use the drop-down menu in the right corner of the program window to specify the sound output device:
- Windows – Select "Speakers" or "Headphones".
- Mac – Select "Built-in Output".
Step 7. Start playing the protected song file
Audacity usually can't start the recording process until a song or sound is playing. Therefore, play the track of the desired song so that you can start the recording process.
Step 8. Click the "Record" button and start playing the song
Audacity will start recording sound when the song is playing.
Step 9. Complete the recording process and export the recording as an MP3 file
Once the track has finished playing, click “Stop”. You can make any necessary edits, such as removing the pause that appears before the song plays. When you're ready, you can export the recording as an unprotected MP3 file:
- Click " File " or " Audacity ", then select " Export Audio ".
- Select "MP3 Files" from the "Save as type" menu.
- Specify the file quality setting. Higher quality makes the file size bigger.
- Give it a name and specify a location to save the file. Now you have an unprotected copy of the original song file in MP3 format.
