YouTube to MP3 Converter

How to Convert Youtube to MP3

You can't directly download a file from YouTube and save it on your hard drive, or email it as an attachment, or anything else. Many people would like to do these things and so, of course, helpful programmers have developed applications that let you capture YouTube content. That process involves converting YouTube audio content to MP3 format.

What you see and hear on YouTube is in Shockwave format, a type of multimedia designed for streaming playback over the Internet. Shockwave files normally cannot be downloaded and played on your computer. So in order to do so you have to convert the stream of Shockwave data into some other file format. MP3 is the standard format for audio files.

Why would you want to do that? Well suppose you found a video on Youtube with a really cool soundtrack, and you wanted to download just the music, without the video. A Youtube to MP3 converter pulls in the Shockwave data, sucks out the audio portion, and saves it as an MP3 file that can be played on your computer, MP3 player or mobile phone. Might even be handy as a ringtone…

A program for Windows called Free YouTube to MP3 Converter does exactly what its name says. It will download a single YouTube file or multiple files in a playlist. It will even download all the "video responses" posted by other users in response to a given YouTube video. It retains the original file name of the video, unlike some converters that want to save everything as VIDEO.MP3 or some other generic, unhelpful name.

If you have a Mac or Linux computer, or you just prefer a web-based application, VidToMP3.com does the conversion online; you needn't download or install any software. Instead, you just copy the URL of the desired video from your browser's address bar window, paste it into a box on the VidToMP3 site, wait a bit, and download the converted file when it's finished. This site also offers a toolbar you can install into your browser that makes the conversion and downloading process even easier.

Here's one more way to rip the audio from a YouTube video as an MP3 file. Download the free Audacity sound editor software for Windows, Mac or Linux. Audacity has the ability to capture and record the audio stream that's currently playing on your computer, and convert it to a variety of different formats. In a nutshell, here's what you'll need to do.

• Open Youtube and find the desired video
• Start Audacity on your computer
• Change the dropdown from "Line In" to "What You Hear"
• Press the Record button to start recording
• Begin playing the Youtube video
• Press the Stop button in Audacity when the video finishes
• Edit the audio clip as desired
• Click File, then "Export as MP3"

If you look around online, you may find other YouTube to MP3 converters. Some may not be compatible with your computer or browser version. YouTube also tweaks its format from time to time and that can throw converters into confusion. But if you try a few converters you will find one that meets your needs.

Post a comment or question below, if you've used one of the above converters, or if you know of another that works well…