An Apple for a Song: Free M4A to MP3 Converter

Once upon a time, there was a brilliant innovation in audio compression called MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3), which later spawned its greater cousin MP4, and everyone was happy. Then a certain company called Apply Inc. decided to popularise a format similar to MP4, a format commonly known as M4A, and everyone was confused.

The end.

From a technical point of view, files with the extensions .mp4 and .m4a are identical. The unfortunate news is that not all devices and software are able to run these files, Windows Media Player being the prime culprit. The good news is that there are numerous applications on the Web that can convert MP4 and M4A files into MP3. This small titbit of an article is for those that, like me, rely on ye olde WMP on their ye olde computers.

The software I obtained for converting my files is the aptly named Free M4a to MP3 Converter, downloaded from www.maniactools.com. No registration or payment necessary; just click the download button. (Note that other software on their site might need to be purchased.)

How to convert mp3 to M4a:

Once downloaded and installed, the Free M4a to MP3 Converted (henceforth called FMMC) looks like this;

As complex as it looks at first glance, it is actually a most simple application. First you add files you want to convert to the FMMC, then you press the ‘Convert’ button located on the top right. Done.

I haven’t tested all the extensions that the FMMC can work on, but according to the Help document the software can convert the following into MP3s or WAV files:

• M4a (obviously)
• MP4]
• AAC (Advance Audio Coding)
• 3GP

Though it seems to have a lot of buttons, only some of them are of practical use. First we’ll look at those on the top.

The ‘File’ dropdown menu allows you to perform most of the actions relevant to conversion.

Add, remove, convert, yup, all there. ‘Play’ and ‘Stop’ is for the built-in M4A player. If for some reason you don’t really want to convert your M4A files and only want to listen to them, you can play them directly from the converter.

‘Options’ provides you with some control on how your files will turn out, along with a few ways to personalise your converter. Since the FMMC only has two output modes, MP3 and WAV, there isn’t much to do here.

Under ‘Language’ are 11 different written languages, changing the converter’s labels instantly when you switch between them.
‘Exit’. Hmm…

The ‘Help’ menu provides you with the usual topics.

Now we get to the buttons. Every button on the topmost bar does the same thing as they do in the ‘File’ menu. And every button on the lower bar, wait, here it comes… are links to other software at Maniac Tools. Basically, if you ever want to split your MP3s or make your own ringtones, you can click on these buttons (links) to go to a page to download the appropriate software. Pity that the more complex applications are not free….

But for a free programme at less than 550kB, I suppose the FMMC is not too bad. At least they provide you ways to find related software should you need them later.

At the bottom of the converter are more… stuff.

You can ignore the link ‘How do I create a CUE sheet?’ It cycles through prewritten messages, each time leading to a help article at www.mymusictools.com.

The ‘Output Folder’ area allows you to denote where your converted files are placed once the conversion process is done. Either they go back into the same folder they came from, or you can give a different location.

On the right is the ‘Output Format’ area, doing the same things that can be found under the ‘File’ menu. And what about that hyperlinked question? Where do you think it leads to?

So now I will convert three M4A songs into MP3. Veteran computer users will know that they can multi-select and drag their selection into another application. The same works here, far easier and faster than adding individual songs the manual way.

Aside: in case you’re wondering, that’s the complete Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog soundtrack right there. End aside.

Okay, the files have been added to the FMMC. Now click convert and watch the magic.

As the application does its work, the status of each song will change from ‘Not Processed’ to ‘Processed’. That blue progress meter at the bottom right shows how much has been done. The time it took to convert these three files, about 6.30 MB in total, was just under a minute.

And so we come to the real end of this story, a story about a simple little gadget flying under the radar of masses of music consumers.
Until next time, may you keep on singing.

P.S. I am aware that I missed my dateline by a day. Things have been coming up and sadly I failed to take enough precautions. Oh, well.