Where are my iTunes purchased tracks stored for use outside of Apple ecosystem?

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Where are my iTunes purchased tracks stored for use outside of Apple ecosystem?

I have an Apple Music Subscription, but purchased a song from iTunes Store. I'd like to use this song for personal, non-commercial reasons outside of Apple application ecosystem. When I purchased the track, I was expecting to receive a copy of the file I could use. However, the track appears to only be usable within Apple Music. When I right-click on the track and click "Get Info" I see the location on my MacBook, but when I go to that location the file is an "HLS Media" file format, which is unusable by any other program than Apple Music.

Am I not able to use the track I purchased from iTunes outside of Apple Music? If it is possible, where do I find the file in a .mp3 format for example?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Oct 13, 2022 4:33 PM

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Answer 1

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ed2345

Level 9

63,050 points

Oct 14, 2022 3:57 PM in response to Mjsielerjr

MJ,

Yes it will be usable in a non-Apple platform. Tracks purchased from the iTunes Store since 2009 are downloaded in unprotected AAC/256 format, and can be used in any player that handles AAC. Or, if you need to create an MP3 version, follow the steps in here:

Convert a song to a different file format with the Apple Music app or iTunes for Windows – Apple Support (UK)

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Answer 2

ed2345

Level 9

63,050 points

Oct 13, 2022 5:40 PM in response to Mjsielerjr

Correct, attempting to convert an Apple Music subscription track will result in an error due to the DRM protection.

You can delete the subscription track and re-download the purchased version per the steps in here: Redownload music - Apple Support

Per your question"where do I find the file in a .mp3 format for example?": You can purchase directly in MP3 format from Amazon Digital Music and a bunch of other music retailers (BandCamp, Beatport, etc.).

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Answer 3

Mjsielerjr Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 14, 2022 3:53 PM in response to ed2345

ed2345 wrote:

You can delete the subscription track and re-download the purchased version per the steps in here: Redownload music - Apple Support

Thanks. I'll give this a try this weekend. However, it's not clear from the article whether or not the file will be useable on a non-iTunes/Apple application. Can you confirm if it will be possible?

Per your question"where do I find the file in a .mp3 format for example?": You can purchase directly in MP3 format from Amazon Digital Music and a bunch of other music retailers (BandCamp, Beatport, etc.).

Unfortunately, this song is not available on any other platforms, which is why I had to purchase from iTunes.

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Answer 4

Mjsielerjr Author

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Oct 13, 2022 4:37 PM in response to Mjsielerjr

Another thing I tried was clicking on the song, going to File, clicking convert to AAC version. I got an error "An unknown error occured (-50)."

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Answer 5

Mjsielerjr Author

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Oct 17, 2022 4:19 PM in response to ed2345

(deleted)

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Answer 6

Mjsielerjr Author

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Oct 17, 2022 4:20 PM in response to ed2345

Thank you for your help, I marked it as solved but I'm still running into an error. I recorded my steps. Can you tell me where I went wrong? https://youtu.be/aw137v31SFQ

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Answer 7

ed2345

Level 9

63,050 points

Oct 17, 2022 4:42 PM in response to Mjsielerjr

MJ,

That YouTube link led to an error "video removed by uploader," which hopefully means that you got the conversion working. But if there is still an issue, pls post back.

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Where are my iTunes purchased tracks stored for use outside of Apple ecosystem?

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