There is a lot of music scattered on the internet, but often websites make it difficult for you to download it for copyright reasons. Fortunately, there are several ways to download music tracks from fairly popular music streaming sites/sources, such as YouTube, Spotify, to Pandora. If you visit a website that plays soundtracks, you can usually find a link to the song that's playing in the source code of the website.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Downloading Music from YouTube and Other Video Streaming Sites
Step 1. Download and install VLC Player
VLC Player provides the easiest way to extract audio elements from YouTube videos and convert them to MP3 format, without using extensions or websites that are often flooded with ads. This program is free and is an open source video player that can also capture and convert streaming video on networks, such as YouTube. You can download it from videolan.org. This method can be followed for Windows, Mac, and Linux users. Once you've downloaded music to your computer through the program, you can send it to your music player or smartphone, just like any other MP3 file.
There are several sites where you can convert YouTube videos to MP3s without the steps below, although the process doesn't always work (or the file won't play). One of the most popular sites for converting YouTube videos to MP3 files is anything2mp3.com
Step 2. Copy the URL of the video with the music you want to download
You can convert the audio elements of any YouTube video into an MP3 audio file using this method. Make sure you copy all the URLs shown.
Step 3. Open VLC and select “Open Network Stream” from the “File” menu
After that, a new window will open.
Step 4. Paste the YouTube URL in the "Network Protocol" field
You can right click the column and select " Paste ".
Step 5. Click “Play”
After that, the YouTube video will start playing in VLC. You can pause it if you want, but don't click the “Stop” button. Otherwise, you will have to re-open the YouTube video from scratch.
Step 6. Click the “Tools” menu and select “Codec Information”
After that, a new window will open.
Step 7. Right-click the “Location” column and select “Select all”
After that, some text that is quite long in that column will be marked.
Step 8. Right-click the selected text and click “Copy”
After that, the text which is the streaming address of the original video file from YouTube will be copied. Now, you can close the window.
Step 9. Click the “File” menu and select “Convert/Save”
After that, a new window resembling the “Open Network Stream” window will be displayed.
Step 10. Click the "Network" tab and paste the copied text in the "Network Protocol" field
This way, you can convert the original video file from YouTube into an MP3 file.
Step 11. Click "Convert/Save" and select "Audio - MP3" from the "Profile" menu
With this option, VLC will convert the video file into an MP3 audio file.
Step 12. Click " Browse " to name the file and specify a save location
You can name the file as you wish. Make sure you choose a storage location that is easy to find.
Step 13. Click "Start" to save the new MP3 file
VLC will start converting the video stream into an MP3 file. The process takes a few moments. Once the conversion process is complete, you can play MP3 files, just like any other music file.
Method 2 of 5: Downloading Music from SoundCloud
Step 1. Check availability of official link to download music first
SoundCloud allows musicians to provide free downloads for the tracks they upload. By downloading music like this (if the download allowance is still available), you can support the music they compose. If there are still downloads for the music you want, you can see a “Download” button next to the “Share” button, below the music track.
Step 2. Install the ad blocker extension (optional)
Usually, websites that offer music conversion services from SoundCloud display a lot of advertisements which are mostly designed to “confuse” their users. You can download it more easily if you have an ad blocker extension installed on your browser. Read the article on how to block internet ads for instructions on installing an ad blocker extension.
You can't block ads using Microsoft Edge because the browser doesn't support extensions or add-ons
Step 3. Open the desired song page on the SoundCloud site
You need to go to the SoundCloud page which contains the desired song. You can't use this method if you're still on the artist page showing the track list. Click the song name to open the song's page.
While you can follow these steps through an Android web browser, you can't do them on an iOS device. If you want to download songs to your iPhone, you'll need to download them first on your computer, then copy them to your phone via iTunes
Step 4. Open a new tab in the browser
You will need to use the downloader's website to take the Soundcloud audio elements and convert them to MP3 format. This is the fastest way to download SoundCloud audio files.
Step 5. Visit the SoundCloud download site
There are several sites that can download SoundCloud audio files in MP3 format. Some of the popular sites include:
- anything2mp3.com
- scdownloader.net
- soundflush.com
Step 6. Copy the URL of the desired SoundCloud song page
Make sure you copy all the URLs shown in the page bar, and that you copy the URL of the song page, not the artist page. Select and mark all URLs, right click, and select “Copy”.
Step 7. Paste the URL in the field provided on the download site
All of the SoundCloud download sites mentioned earlier will display a text field in the middle of the page where you can paste the URL. Right-click the column and select “Paste” to paste it.
Step 8. Click the "Download" or "Convert" button
This button is to the right or below the URL field. Be careful if you don't use ad blocker extensions because usually ads on sites will show as download buttons.
Step 9. Download the music file
The download process may vary slightly depending on the site used. The file may download automatically after a while, or you may need to click the new download button that appears. If the download button doesn't work, right click the button and select "Save link as".
Method 3 of 5: Downloading Music from Spotify
Step 1. Download Spotify Web Recorder for Windows
This program is free and open source created to download tracks played on Spotify. You can use it for a free or premium Spotify account. To download this program, visit spotifywebrecorder.codeplex.com/.
Step 2. Extract the downloaded ZIP file
Double-click the ZIP file and extract the contents to a folder you can easily access. In this method, you don't need to install any programs and you can run them directly from the program's storage folder.
Step 3. Download and install Flash Player
You will need the individual Flash Player software in order to load the Spotify web player (Spotify Web Player) in the recording program. Go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and download the Firefox version.
Make sure you uncheck the McAfee box before downloading the installation file so that the main browser page does not change and unnecessary toolbars are not installed
Step 4. Open the Control Panel window
For the recorder to work, you need to select stereo mix as the recording input because by default, this option is usually disabled by Windows. You can change it via Control Panel.
- Windows 10 and 8 – Right-click the “Windows” button and select “Control Panel”.
- Windows 7 and earlier versions – Open the “Start” menu and select “Control Panel”.
Step 5. Click “Hardware and Sound” and select “Sound”
After that, a new window containing the sound playback device will be displayed.
Step 6. Click the "Recording" tab
All their devices will be shown in this tab.
Step 7. Right-click an empty space on the list and select “Show Disabled Devices”
Now, you can see the "Stereo Mix" option.
Step 8. Right click the “Stereo Mix” option and select “Enable”
In this way, Spotify Web Recorder can record directly from the computer's soundcard.
Step 9. Open Spotify Web Recorder
Once the recording device is properly configured and Flash is installed, you can run the Web Recorder program. You can see the Spotify web player displayed in the program's main window.
If the main window doesn't show anything, click the “Refresh” button at the top of the program window
Step 10. Sign in using your Spotify account
You can log in using a free or premium account. After logging in, the web player interface will appear in the Spotify Web Recorder window.
Step 11. Click the "Start Monitoring" button
With this button, you can instruct the recorder to start listening to music playing on Spotify.
Step 12. Play the music you want to record on the Spotify web player
The recorder will detect the song automatically and start recording it. You need to listen to the song to the end for the song to be recorded in full. The recording program detects the start and end points of the song automatically, and labels the recording with the name of the artist and the title of the song.
- The recorder will record all the sound generated by the computer. Therefore, avoid using any program that produces more noise during the recording process.
- If no songs are recorded, check the “Settings” tab and make sure “Stereo Mix” is selected as the recording device.
Step 13. Search for the recorded music
By default, recorded songs will be saved in the “Music” folder. However, you can change the save location on the “Settings” tab of the Spotify Web Recorder window.
Step 14. Adjust the music volume
Maybe the volume of the music you are recording sounds too low. However, there are some volume settings that you usually adjust when music is recorded. Try adjusting the following settings to find the right volume for your recording:
- “Sound Mixer” → “Main volume” and “Application volumes”
- “Recording Devices” → “Stereo Mix” → “Properties” → “Recording levels”
- Volume control on Spotify web player
Method 4 of 5: Downloading Music from Pandora
Step 1. Open the Pandora website via Chrome
The fastest way to download tracks from Pandora is to use Chrome and the developer tools in your browser. You can do this using a premium account or without logging into the account at all.
Step 2. Right-click the blue background on the Pandora page and select “Inspect”
The developer toolbar will be displayed on the side of the browser.
Step 3. Click the "Network" tab
This tab will display Pandora site network activity.
Step 4. Double-click the "Size" column
After that, the content will be sorted by size, starting with the content with the largest size.
Step 5. Click the “Clear” button present at the top of the browser sidebar
After that, the displayed network content will be deleted so you can get an empty list.
Step 6. Play a song on Pandora
Now, you can see the new entries appearing in the “Network” tab.
Step 7. Look for the "audio/mp4" entry
This entry is an audio file of the song you are currently playing/listening through Pandora.
Step 8. Right click the name of the audio entry and select “Open link in new tab”
After that, a new tab will open with a black background and the audio file playing through the browser's built-in audio player.
Step 9. Right click the tab and select “Save as”
After that, you can give the file a name and specify a location to save it.
Step 10. Play the saved audio file
The file will be saved in M4A format which can be played via iTunes or VLC Player. You can also convert it to MP3 format. Read the article on how to convert an MP4 file to an MP3 file for further instructions.
Method 5 of 5: Downloading Background Music (MP3) from Website
Step 1. Go to the website that plays the song you want to download
If you're visiting a website that plays background music, there's a good chance you can download the music file. However, this method only works if the music file is unencrypted or played through another music player.
Step 2. Right-click the web page background and select “View source”
After that, a new tab containing the source code of the website will be opened. Make sure you don't right-click on the image or text to get to the right menu. You can also use the Ctrl+U key combination as a shortcut.
Step 3. Press the Ctrl+F key combination to open the “Find” window
With this window, you can search for text in the source code.
Step 4. Type "mp3" into the "Find" field
After that, text containing “mp3” will be searched for in the source code. “mp3” itself is a fairly common music file extension.
Step 5. Browse the results until you find the song file with the address
Search the marked results until you find an MP3 file with its full web address, including the https:// or ftp:// prefix and the.mp3 extension at the end of the file name. Keep in mind that the address may be quite long.
If you don't get results that contain the.mp3 extension, you can look for other music formats, such as.m4a or.ogg. If you still can't find the song file, it's possible that the song was "hidden" in a separate player or encrypted
Step 6. Copy the entire address of the song file
Make sure you select the entire address text, then right-click the selection and select "Copy".
Step 7. Paste the copied address into the browser and load the address
After that, the MP3 file will start playing through your device's built-in media player, which is displayed in the middle of the browser window. On this page, no other content is loaded other than song files.
Step 8. Right-click the media player and select “Save as”
After that, you can save the MP3 file to your computer.
Step 9. Play the downloaded MP3 file to your computer
Once the file has finished downloading, you can play it or copy it to an MP3 player or smartphone.
