Summary
Can’t play purchased iTunes music on your devices? You need to remove DRM protection from purchased iTunes music files. Here we will introduce 5 methods to help you remove DRM from iTunes music (both DRM-protected and unprotected songs) and convert iTunes M4P to MP3 losslessly.

“How do I get DRM free music from iTunes?”

iTunes is music store and music manager tool, you can easily find and buy favorite tracks, albums, artists in the iTunes store. But did you know that all iTunes songs purchased before 2009 are still full of FairPlay DRM (Digital Rights Management)? Older purchased iTunes songs are encoded in a protected AAC (.M4P) format. DRM lock restricts you to only listen to the purchased iTunes songs on devices authorized by Apple ID. If you wish to play iTunes music on your MP3 player, Sonos, PSP, car player and more devices, you need to remove DRM from iTunes music. However, how to remove DRM from iTunes purchased AAC music files? Although after 2009, Apple removed the annoying FairPlay DRM protection from the iTunes music library, these purchased iTunes can only be played on authorized devices. To remove DRM protection from iTunes music, you need to use a third-party iTunes music converter.

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Lucky for you, if you are looking for a way to remove iTunes music DRM for playback freely, you come to the right. Here this article will show you 5 easy ways to remove DRM from iTunes music and convert all your purchased iTunes music to unprotected audio formats like M4A, MP3, AAC, etc. After that, you can freely enjoy iTunes music on any music player and device without limits!

Way 1. Remove DRM from iTunes Music with iTunes Match

When it comes to removing DRM from iTunes music, iTunes Match comes in handy. If you have subscribed to iTunes Match (costs $25 per year), then you are allowed to upload the entire music library to the iCloud Music Library, and stream or download them on up to 10 devices without storing a local copy. You to refer to the following steps to remove DRM from iTunes songs.

itunes match remove drm from music

1) How to Subscribe to iTunes Match on Windows/Mac

Subscribe to iTunes Match on Windows:
Open iTunes on your Windows PC and click the “Store” at the top of the iTunes window. Click the “iTunes Match” button. Fill in the bill information and then click the “Subscribe” button.

Subscribe to iTunes Match on Mac:
Open the Apple Music app on the MacOS 10.15 Catalina or above. Move to the sidebar and tap on the “iTunes Store” > “iTunes Match”. Click the “Subscribe” button and sign in with your Apple ID and password. Finally, confirm your bill information and click the “Subscribe” button.

subscribe to itunes match on mac

2) Steps to Remove DRM from iTunes Music with iTunes Match

Step 1. After subscribing to iTunes Match, launch iTunes or Apple Music app on your PC/Mac. Sign in with your Apple ID and password. Then iTunes Match will automatically scan your music library for matches.

Step 2. Next, you need to find the iTunes DRM-protected songs. Click View > Show View Options. Then select the “Kind” under the File section. Exit this window and tap on the “Kind” button at the header to sort the songs.

Step 3. Go to the “Music” > “Library”. Select the protected iTunes songs you want to delete the DRM. Press on the “Delete” button on your keyboard.

delete music

Step 4. Now you can download these songs from iCloud by ticking the iCloud Download icon. When finished, you will get the unprotected iTunes songs.

download unprotected itunes music

Way 2. Remove DRM from iTunes Music via DRM Removal (Best)

To remove iTunes DRM, you can ask help from a third-party FairPlay DRM Removal tool. TunesBank Apple Music Converter is an iTunes Music DRM removal, Apple Music DRM removal and Audible DRM removal tool that you can’t miss. It not only can help you remove DRM from iTunes purchased music, but also convert iTunes M4P songs to M4A, MP3, AAC, FLAC format.

iTunes Music Converter

Only 3 simple steps, you can convert Apple Music tracks and iTunes muisc to MP3, M4A, WAV, etc. So that, you are able to play Apple Music and iTunes music on MP3 players, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPod Classic, iPod Touch, PSP, Xbox, car player, Windows Media Player, QuickTime and any other players and devices.

3 steps to convert iTunes music to MP3

In addition to unlocking iTunes music DRM, it is also a powerful Apple Music DRM Removal and Audiobook DRM Removal. With it, you can easily remove DRM from Apple Music, iTunes M4B audiobooks and Audible audiobooks, and convert them to unprotected MP3, M4A, FLAC files. In this way, you can keep Apple Music songs forever and play them on any device!

Highlights of TunesBank iTunes DRM Removal:

  • Remove DRM from iTunes music, movies, TV shows, music videos.
  • Remove DRM from Apple Music, iTunes and Audible audiobooks.
  • Convert iTunes music & Apple Music to DRM-free M4A, MP3, AAC, FLAC.
  • Convert iTunes movies, TV shows and music videos to MP3, M4A audios.
  • Convert iTunes M4B audiobooks and AA/AAX audiobooks to MP3, M4A.
  • Convert iTunes Music at 5-10X faster speed with lossless audio quality.
  • Save ID tags and metadata, including title, artwork, artist, genre, year, etc.
  • Play iTunes music, Apple Music on any device without iTunes/Apple Music app.
  • Burn iTunes/Apple Music to CD/DVD; Save iTunes music to USB drive/ SD card.
  • Easy to use; User-friendly design; Highly compatibility; Enjoy free updates.

News: TunesBank Apple Music Converter has launched V3.0.0. With Apple Music Web Player embedded, users can stream music online and download any music contents at one-stop without the iTunes/Music app installed.

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Guide 1: Remove DRM from iTunes Music with TunesBank Old Version

Step 1. Add DRM-ed iTunes Music to iTunes Library
Launch iTunes program on your Mac or PC with your Apple ID and authorize the computer. Click “Account” and choose “Purchased”.

Choose “Music” > “App Store” > “Purchased”, download the purchased iTunes music to iTunes library. When finished, exit the iTunes program.

Step 2. Launch TunesBank Apple Music Converter
Download and install TunesBank Apple Music Converter on your Mac or PC. When you launch the TunesBank program, iTunes program will run with it. You will see that all playlists, music and audiobooks have been synced to TunesBank.

launch iTunes Music Converter

What’s more, on this page, you can see song information like album, artist, and length of each song. All the information will also be retained in ID3 tags after loaded into the program. This feature helps you better manage the output files. Besides, it will keep the original quality, ID3 tags and metadata information in the output files.

Apple Music ID3 tags

Step 3. Select iTunes Music
Click “Playlist”, “My Songs”, then select the iTunes music by ticking the checkbox. Or you can type the music/artist name in the Search Box to locate the song.

Select iTunes Music

Step 4. Adjust Output Settings
Go to the bottom of the main interface, and adjust the output settings and metadata. To play iTunes music on any player and device, M4A and MP3 formats are recommended. M4A is supported by all Apple devices and MP3 is supported by most devices and players. Besides, you can also change the Output Quality, Bitrate(up to 320kbps), Sample Rate, etc.

choose output format

Step 5. Start Removing DRM from iTunes Music
Hit on “Convert” button to destroy iTunes DRM and convert iTunes Music to MP3, M4A, FLAC and WAV with zero audio quality loss.

remove drm from itunes music

Tips: During the converting process, you are able to continue adding more songs to the “Library”.

Step 5. Get DRM-free iTunes Music
TunesBank runs up to 5-10X faster speed, just wait a few minutes. After that, you can go to “Finished” section to view the conversion history.

remove drm from itunes music

Click “View Output File” to open the output folder, you will get the non-DRM iTunes songs, all converted songs is MP3 format.

get drm-free itunes music

As below screenshot, I have got the MP3 music files.

mp3 music file

Now you can transfer the unprotected iTunes music to any device for offline listening! As the below screenshot, now I can play the converted iTunes music/Apple Music tracks with Windows Media Player, no need using the iTunes or Apple Music app.

play iTunes music with windows media player

Guide 2: Remove DRM from iTunes Music with New TunesBank V3.0.0

Note: The updated TunesBank Apple Music Converter V3.0.0 works without iTunes/ Music app. To convert iTunes music (DRM-protected or DRM-free), you need to turn on “iCloud Music Library” in iTunes and sync your iTunes library to Apple Music. After that, open Apple Music Web Player, check if your iTunes music and playlists are displayed on the left side. In this way, you are able to convert iTunes music with TunesBank Apple Music Converter.

turn on icloud music library

Click the Download button to get the latest version of TunesBank Apple Music Converter (web version).

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Step 1. Run TunesBank Apple Music Converter
Launch TunesBank Apple Music Converter. Sign with your Apple ID and password to let TunesBank access your music library.

launch the converter and sign in Apple ID

Step 2. Add iTunes Music to Converting List
Open any iTunes song or playlist in the left side, drag it to the red “+” icon to add them into the converting list.

add Apple Music playlist

Then choose the ones you need to remove DRM and convert to MP3.

Select iTunes Songs

Step 3. Customize Output Parameters
The default format is MP3, you can change to other format at the “Convert all files to:” option. If you want to convert iTunes songs to different format, please pick the desired format for each song.

Select MP3 Output Formats

Also, go to Menu bar and choose “Preference”, a setting window pops up. From where you may set the output format, bitrate, sample rate, etc.

customize output quality

Step 4. Strip DRM from iTunes Music
Hit on “Convert All” button to let the tool unlock iTunes Music DRM while converting them into unprotected MP3 or other format you set.

unlock itunes music drm

Once done, go to “Finished” section and click “View Output File” to check the unprotected iTunes songs!

remove itunes music drm completed

Extra Tips: Convert DRM-ed Apple Music to MP3

If you have an Apple Music subscription account, then you may be annoyed by Apple Music’s FairPlay DRM, which restricts you from playing Apple Music tracks on MP3 players, iPod Nano, Xbox, or other unauthorized devices. Do you want to remove DRM from Apple Music? As we mentioned above, TunesBank Apple Music Converter not only enables you to remove DRM from iTune music, but also allows you to remove DRM from Apple Music. And then convert the DRM-ed Apple Music and iTunes M4P songs to MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, etc.

If you want to remove DRM from Apple Music to convert them to MP3 files, I suggest you use the latest version of TunesBank Apple Music Converter, a built-in Apple Music web player in the program, please sign in your Apple ID, then you’re able to download music from Apple Music and convert Apple Music tracks to MP3, M4A, FLAC and WAV.

Convert Apple Music to MP3

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Way 3. Remove DRM from iTunes Music By Burning to CD

Another way to free your iTunes songs of DRM is to burn DRM-protected iTunes music to a CD, and then rip the music from the CD. In this way, you will get DRM-free iTunes songs. Compared with TunesBank iTunes DRM Removal, this method is a bit complicated. If you have a series of iTunes songs, it takes a long time to burn them to CD and then rip them into MP3 audio. At the same time, this will take up more memory of your CD, and it will cost a lot of money to buy a CD. Please think twice. You can refer to the step-by-step guide below.

Preparation:

  • A blank CD or DVD disc;
  • CD drive;
  • A Mac or PC running the latest version of iTunes.

Step 1. Insert a CD/DVD into Computer
Launch iTunes on your Mac or PC computer, and sign in with your Apple ID. Then insert a blank CD or DVD disc in your computer’s optical drive.

Step 2. Add DRM-protected iTunes Songs to the New Playlist
Click “File” > “New” > “Playlist”, and name it. Then drag & drop the iTunes purchased M4P songs to the new created playlist.

Step 3. Burn iTunes DRM M4P Music to CD
Select the new create playlist, and tap “File” > “Burn Playlist to Disc”.

burn itune drm music to cd

In the pop-up window, select “Audio CD” option. Then click “Burn” to start burning the iTunes M4P music into the CD.

burn itune drm-locked music to cd

Step 4. Rip Non-DRM iTunes music from CD to the Computer
On iTunes, tap “Edit” > “Preferences” > “General”, and select “Import Settings”.

iTunes Import Settings

Then, please choose “MP3 Encoder” in the “Import Using:” option. Click OK.

MP3 Encoder

Step 5. Get DRM-free MP3 iTunes Songs
Load an “Audio CD” in the left side of iTunes, and select “Import CD” to import the MP3 songs from the CD.

import cd to mp3 on itunes

After that, you can rename these DRM-free iTunes songs, and transfer them to any device for offline listening.

Way 4. Get Rid of DRM via iTunes Music Recorder

To disable iTunes Music DRM, you can also use an iTunes Music Recorder. There are many audio recorders online and offline, most of them could help you get rid of the DRM encryption, by ripping iTunes music to MP3. Here we will introduce 2 awesome audio recorders.

No.1 UkeySoft Audio Recorder

UkeySoft Audio Recorder (Mac) is well designed to help users record music from popular streaming music platforms/apps, such as iTunes, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, Pandora, etc. This music recorder will preserve 100% music quality, and allows to set the output format and other audio parameters.

Apart from this, it is able to record app window, full screen, customizable screen, videos, systems sound and microphone on computer. You can follow the steps to record both DRM-protected and DRM-free iTunes Music:

Step 1. Run UkeySoft Audio Recorder, select “Audio Only” option. And open iTunes or Music app on PC/Mac.

bypass itunes music drm

Step 2. Select “System Sound” and MP3 format on the tool.

Step 3. Click “Record” button to rip MP3s from iTunes music while deleting the DRM lock.

No 2. Aiseesoft Screen Recorder

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder is also a professional iTunes music recorder and video recorder. It has a built-in audio recorder, which can helps you remove DRM from iTunes songs while recording iTunes songs/music videos as MP3/WAV/M4A/AAC files. After recording finished, you can also edit the non-DRM audio files with it’s build-in editor function.

Moreover, it’s a powerful and widely used video/audio recording software to capture anything on computer with high quality audio. If you want to extract audio from YouTube video, you can use it to capture the songs while playing a music video on YouTube. Let’s teach you how to use this iTunes music recorder to record the iTunes music tracks into MP3 files.

How to Record the iTunes Songs to MP3 File

Step 1. Launch the Program and Select Audio Recorder
Firstly, download, install and launch the Screen Recorder program, it can works on Mac and Windows. After launching the program, you will get the below main interface.

itunes music recorder

Step 2. Audio Input Setting
To record music from iTunes, please click the “Audio Recorder” function. In order to recording iTunes music as good quality audio file, only turn on “System Sound” option and turn off “Microphone” option.

Audio Recorder

Step 3. Set Music Recording Format – MP3
Then click the “Preferences” icon at the bottom right corner so that you can set the output audio format, including MP3, WMA, M4A and ACC. In addition, you can also set the capture audio quality. Here, I have set MP3 as output format, so the program will records iTunes music as MP3 file.

set mp3 as recording format

Step 4. Start to Record iTunes Music
After setting the output audio format, then launch the iTunes and ready to play any song on iTunes. And then, go back to the iTunes music recorder, before playing the iTunes music, please click the “REC” button start recording while playing music.

record iTunes music

Step 5. Play the Recorded Music without iTunes
After iTunes music recorded finished, click the “Save” button to save the recorded iTunes songs to output directly as you like. Now, you have got the MP3 audio file, you can listen to the DRM-free iTunes music on any devices.

Tips: Go the the “History”, here you can directly share your MP3 music to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and more online social platforms.

How to Check Which Songs Are DRM Protected in iTunes?

How do you know if a song is DRM protected in iTunes? If you bought songs from the iTunes Store before 2009, they may be protected. What a sad story is that you can’t play DRM music from iTunes on your Android phone/ tablet and other non-Apple devices without removing the DRM protection. Before removing iTunes DRM, you can follow the guide to check which songs are DRM Protected in iTunes.

Step 1. First of all, open iTunes app on your computer, and sign in with your Apple ID.

Step 2. Tap on “View” > “Column Browser” > “Show Column Browser” > “Kinds”.

check drm itunes music

Step 3. Now click on “Songs” on the left, then select any song you want to check, and then click on the “File” option. If you see “Protected AAC audio file” in “Kind” column, it means that the song is protected by DRM.

itunes protected music

If it shows as “MPEG audio file”, “Purchased AAC Audio File”, “AAC Audio File” or others, then the song is DRM-free and can be played freely on any device that supports this format.

drm-free itunes music

What’s next? You should use TunesBank iTunes DRM Removal to kill the DRM in your old iTunes music purchases!

Final Verdict

Which method do you prefer to make iTunes Music DRM-free? iTunes Match subscription fee is $25 per year, it lets you convert purchased iTunes music to unprotected AAC files. However, once you cancel the subscription, you can keep the downloaded iTunes songs playable on your devices, but you will loss access to other non-downloaded songs in iCloud Music Library. It is not any easy job to burn DRM-protected iTunes music to CD and rip iTunes music from CD to get DRM-free iTunes music. It takes a long time, and you need to spend some money on buying CDs.

By using TunesBank Apple Music Converter (iTunes Music DRM Removal tool), you are able to remove DRM from iTunes music, Apple Music, audiobooks and convert them to unprotected MP3, M4A, FLAC formats. In this way, you can keep iTunes music and Apple Music forever and enjoy them offline on any device without iTunes app/Apple Music app. More importantly, the lifetime version of TunesBank Apple Music Converter only costs $39.95 for one PC/mac, and you can enjoy free updates and technical support forever. Why not have a try?

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iTunes Music Converter

All-in-one iTunes media files converter. Converting everything that iTunes can plays. Removing DRM and converting Apple Music, iTunes songs, audiobooks, podcasts, etc. to high quality MP3, M4A, FLAC, and WAV easily.

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Christina
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Christina has always had great enthusiasm for writing, programming and web development. He likes writing about software and technology, his works are featured on some tech blogs or forums like Tom's Hardware, CNET, etc.