“Downloading Apple Music to my computer” can mean two different things. One is saving songs for offline listening inside Apple's app, which is what the download button in Apple Music does. The other is getting an actual audio file you can open in any player, copy to a USB stick or drop into a video editor. They work very differently, so it's worth knowing which one you need before you start.
Two kinds of download, side by side
| Offline in Apple's app | MP3 or M4A file | |
|---|---|---|
| Plays in | Apple's app only (Music on Mac, Apple Music on Windows) | Any player, phone, car stereo or editor |
| After you cancel | Stops playing | Keeps working |
| Copy, move or edit it | No | Yes |
| Audio | Apple's 256 kbps AAC, or lossless | A matched public recording: M4A usually 128 kbps AAC, MP3 192 kbps |
| Cost | Apple Music subscription | Free with TunesLoader |
Option 1: Download for offline listening in Apple's app
If all you want is to keep listening when the Wi-Fi drops, Apple's own app is the simplest answer, as long as your subscription is active.
On a Windows PC
- Install the Apple Music app from the Microsoft Store. On Windows 10 and 11 it has taken over music from iTunes.
- Sign in with your Apple Account and make sure Sync Library is turned on in the app's settings, so catalogue songs can be added to your library.
- Find a song, album or playlist, add it to your library and click the download button (the arrow), or choose ••• › Download.
On a Mac
- Open the Music app and sign in. Check that Music › Settings › General › Sync Library is on.
- Add the song, album or playlist to your library with the + button.
- Click the download arrow next to it. Downloaded songs show a small arrow-down badge.
Option 2: Save songs as MP3 or M4A files with TunesLoader
If you need a real file, for a USB drive, an old MP3 player, a DJ app or a video project, TunesLoader does it in the browser on Windows, Mac, Linux or a Chromebook. Nothing to install, no account. It reads the song's public details from Apple's catalogue and finds the same recording among publicly available uploads, so you get a normal, unprotected file rather than a copy of Apple's stream.
- In Apple Music, open the song and choose ••• › Share › Copy Link.
- Open the song downloader in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari and paste the link. Albums, playlists and artists have their own tabs, and if you don't have a link, search by title or artist.
- Choose M4A (smaller, no re-encoding) or MP3 (plays on everything).
- Click Download. The file is named after the artist and song, for example “Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero.m4a”.
Where your downloaded files go (and how to change it)
Files from TunesLoader go wherever your browser saves downloads: usually the Downloads folder (C:\Users\you\Downloads on Windows, Downloads in your home folder on a Mac). To choose a folder every time, turn on “Ask where to save each file” in Chrome or Edge (Settings › Downloads), or change the download location in Safari (Settings › General) or Firefox (Settings › General).
Add the files to your music library
- Mac: in the Music app choose File › Import, or drag the files into the window.
- Windows: import them in the Apple Music app or in iTunes (File › Add File to Library), or just play them in Windows Media Player or VLC.
- iPhone: add the files to your library on the computer first, then sync the iPhone (in Finder on a Mac, in the Apple Devices app on Windows). The Music app on iPhone can't import files directly.
M4A or MP3 on a computer?
Pick M4A for almost everything on a modern computer: it keeps the matched recording's audio exactly as it was, the file is smaller, and Music, Windows Media Player and VLC all play it. Pick MP3 only for older players or software that won't take anything else. What file format does Apple Music use? explains bitrates and why a “320 kbps” label doesn't always mean better sound.
Downloading a whole album or playlist
Paste an album or playlist link on its tab and every song gets its own Download button, so you choose which ones to save. Up to 3 downloads run at the same time and 3 can start per minute; there's no single ZIP of the whole list. Our guide to converting an Apple Music playlist to MP3 walks through it, including how to keep the songs in order.
A note on what's allowed
TunesLoader is for personal, non-commercial use. Don't share, sell or publish what you download; the rules depend on where you live and on the rights to each song. It never touches Apple's encrypted files.
