WMA, a short form for Windows Media Audio, is widely applied on Windows-based programs and music download services. For Windows users, it’s indeed a very helpful audio format due to its high quality.
But the compatibility of WMA is not as good as MP3. You can’t put WMA music or sounds into a website. What's worse for Mac users, it can’t be opened on Mac-based software.
MP3, enough said, is one of the most popular audio formats that are compatible with all devices and platforms including Mac. To enjoy and edit WMA on Mac, you’d better convert it to MP3. Read below to master how to convert WMA to MP3 on Mac.
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The best method to convert WMA files to MP3 on Mac is to use dedicated and feature-rich software. Cisdem Video Converter is such a tool that will assist you to deal with video/audio-related tasks in the most efficient manner possible.
Not just converting WMA to MP3 without losing quality, it supports almost all the formats for file conversion, including M4A to MP3, MKV to MOV, MTS to MP4, YouTube to MP4, AVI to iPhone, etc.
Moreover, it allows you to download videos from 1000+ video sharing sites and rip protected DVD/Blu-ray content to media formats like WMA, MP3, and MP4.
Standout features:
Step 1. Load WMA files
Install Cisdem WMA to MP3 converter to Mac, and launch it.
On the main interface, drag and drop WMA files to the "convert" interface. Or navigate to "File" > "Add File(s)" to import WMA.
Step 2. Select MP3 as the target format
Click the format icon, then a drop-down list will appear with tabs of “Video”, “Audio”, “Device”, and "Web Video".
Go to “Audio” and choose the MP3 format.
Step 3. Configure encoding settings (optional)
Click the icon placed alongside the output format of your choice, and an "Setting" panel will pop up like so, which can control over the output audio parameters.
Step 4. Convert multiple WMA to MP3 on Mac
Click the "Start" icon at the bottom right corner and your WMA files will be converted to MP3 formats in batches.
VLC is an open-source audio and video-playing program developed by the VideoLAN team.
It supports playing MP4, WAV, WMV, DIVX, MP3, AAC, WMA, etc. on Mac, and also supports converting these file formats to WebM, OGG, ASF, TS, CD, MP4, MP3, FLAC, etc.
Follow the guide to change WMA file to MP3 on Mac using VLC without spyware, ads, and user tracking.
However, VLC is mainly for video & audio playback. Its conversion feature is not practical enough. And the functions of VLC are limited, you can’t download & share videos, rip DVD with it. Besides, many Mac users said its interface needs some improvement.
There're plenty online audio converters available for you to change WMA files to MP3 without purchasing, downloading and installing software on Mac. If you are looking for these kinds of online services, here are 2 to try.
Online Audio Converter is a sleek and easy-to-use web app, deeply loved by music collectors.
It currently supports 8 output formats including MP3, WAV, M4A, AMR, MP2, M4R (for iPhone ringtones), OGG and FLAC.
Meanwhile, it lets you convert multiple WMA files simultaneously in batch and preserve them in a ZIP archive.
CloudConvert is a cloud-based WMA converter for Mac with the ability to convert WMA to MP3, AAC, AIFF, M4A, WAV and more.
It also works with video, document, image, eBook, spreadsheet, etc. formats. But the free account has certain limitations.
The input file can't exceed 1GB (not suitable for converting video files) and it only supports 5 concurrent conversions.
Merits of online WMA to MP3 converters for Mac are apparent: free, saving much time & space, no need installation, etc.
On the other hand, the drawbacks can’t be ignored. So many online sites may:
FFmpeg is a powerful library to record, stream, and transcoding media files. It's capable of converting an audio or video from one format to another.
Plus, it supports batch conversion, changing codecs, adding subtitles, etc. You need to revise the commands flexibly.
But if you don’t know anything about code technology, then you are not recommended to try FFmpeg.
Let’s see how to use it to make conversion.
No, you can’t.
As I mentioned in the first part, WMA can’t be imported into Mac-based software, like iTunes, QuickTime, and iMovie.
However, if you have iTunes installed on Windows computer, you can convert WMA to MP3. By default, Windows iTunes will convert files to M4A, not MP3. So you need to change your iTunes preferences first.
No, the original Audacity can't do it and only MP3, WAV, and AIFF can be added.
But you are able to install the FFmpeg library to expand a wider range of audio formats like WMA, AC3, AMR, etc. for import and export. FFmpeg partially supports WMA, but may not support some variants of WMA files, e.g. DRM-protected WMA.
Download FFmpeg from https://lame.buanzo.org/#lameosx64bitdl.
Also, it's best to install the LAME MP3 encoder at the same time.
Above are detailed guides for converting WMA to MP3 on Mac with several advantageous tools. Although all of them give certain help to fulfill the task, my favorite solution is to Cisdem Video Converter for Mac. It offers fast audio conversion, and many additional features for video editing/download/compression, and DVD/Blu-ray ripping. Start to use the well-received WMA to MP3 converter Mac, you will be surprised by the little fun it brings to you!
Emily is a girl who loves to review various multimedia software. She enjoys exploring cutting edge technology and writing how-to guides. Hopefully her articles will help you solve your audio, video, DVD and Blu-ray issues.