Sample workflow for exporting to iTunes
From Audacity Manual
It is not the only way of working - there are many alternatives. Like any recipe it can be adapted to suit your personal needs. You can work in AIFF rather than WAV if required, many Apple Mac users would probably prefer to work in AIFF.
See also this Wiki article on Exporting your Audacity Project into iTunes and iPod which has further useful information on this topic.
Workflow
Export the WAV files
Use Export or Export Multiple to produce a WAV file or set of WAVs. With Audacity set to a project rate of 44100 Hz and 32-bit sample format (these are the default quality settings), exporting will by default produce 44.1kHz 16-bit PCM WAV files (or AIFF files on Mac). Audacity will down-sample from its 32-bit internal format to 16-bit, with shaped dither noise applied to cover any clicky noise that may result from the conversion to 16-bit. Advanced users can change the type of dither, or turn it off, in the Quality Preferences.
16-bit export will ensure the files are compatible with all versions of iTunes, They will also be compatible for conversion to AAC or other formats (or for CD burning) in iTunes. It is possible to export 32-bit PCM files too, by choosing "Other uncompressed files" in either export dialog, then clicking Options. These files will theoretically be of marginally higher quality but twice the size of 16-bit files. Latest versions of iTunes will play them, but other players may not.
- Can you check with Bill that if you initialise Preferences on Mac, export defaults to AIFF
- Should this be widened to "exporting to iTunes", not just AAC? Some people will prefer MP3s in iTunes out of familiarity, or even WAV/AIFF if space is no option. If it should be widened, can you both check latest iTunes plays 32-bit PCM WAV/AIFF. I believe so, but I don't have iTunes at present.
- Peter 25Mar10: I have added a note to cover WAV and MP3 working. I would prefer to retain it titled ".... Audacity Projects to AAC in iTunes" for a couple of reasons - though I could be persuaded otherwise as I can see the advantage of generalizing the title. Even if I do change the title I would want to retain the main thrust of the workflow to be based on AAC.
- AAC is iTunes native default format
- it is a reasonably frequently asked question on the forum - hence the sticky thread I originally created.
- many users don't even realize that they can go from Audacity to AAC in iTunes and just use MP3 by default (I was one of those when I started out my transcription project).
- Gale: I would suggest title is just "Example workflow for exporting to iTunes". You can say in the intro that the workflow concentrates on AAC because it is Apple's default format. We aren't transferring projects - the Audacity label and envelope points don't get transferred.
- Peter: Gale, what are the Wiki implications of changed the page title? Does the Wiki automatically delete the old page under its previous title - or would I have to copy the page to a new title and then delete the old page? And wouldn't this then lose the page history? If so, is that important?
- Gale: Move the page to the new title, see "What links here" to change the links on dependent pages to the new title, then delete the redirect page that the move created.
- Peter 26Mar10: ok, I feel a bit like the sorcerer's apprentice here... I've retitled the page with "move" and I've changed the links - but for the life of me I can't see how to delete the redirect page that the link created. How do I do that?
- Gale: Move the page to the new title, see "What links here" to change the links on dependent pages to the new title, then delete the redirect page that the move created.
- Peter 25Mar10: I have added a note to cover WAV and MP3 working. I would prefer to retain it titled ".... Audacity Projects to AAC in iTunes" for a couple of reasons - though I could be persuaded otherwise as I can see the advantage of generalizing the title. Even if I do change the title I would want to retain the main thrust of the workflow to be based on AAC.
- Should this be attached to LP/tape digitisation? This may be of interest to those recording stereo mix or mic input too. In the latter case, what about "making stereo"? I think iTunes can handle CD burning from mono input, please check on both platforms.
- Peter 25Mar10: I'm not sure what you mean by "attached to LP/tape digitization". There is nothing in this workflow that precludes a user from taking Audacity projects that are captures from FM off-air or streamed from t'interweb. I did think about making references to such usage - but thought again when I considered the copyright implications of such projects ...
- Gale: This workflow is listed as #5 in the list at Tutorial - Copying tapes, LPs or minidiscs to CD. So if you were recording mic or FM radio you probably wouldn't find it from Tutorials. I think there is quite a good case for listing workflows separately on Tutorials - that does not preclude linking to a workflow from a particular tutorial.
- Peter 26Mar10: I see what you mean - I can see the sense of creating an "Example Workflows" sections on the main tutorials page - and in listing&linking both the "LP Digitization" and the "Export to iTunes" workflow tutorials there - but I would probably still want to retain a dupicate listing in the "Copying Tapes, LPs etc. ..." tutorial set. Would you like me to create the Example Workflows section on the Tutorials page?
- Peter 9Jun10: created the Example Workflows section on the main tutorial page and linked the relevant tutorials from there.
Add the WAV files into iTunes
Add the WAV files to the iTunes library (using the iTunes command or ). Note that even if iTunes Import Preferences are set to Import Using AAC Settings ( ), no conversion takes place as this preference only applies to importing from CD.
Use iTunes to edit the metadata for the album name and artist
Make sure that one of the columns you have showing in your iTunes library is Kind. The imported files will show as WAV and can be listed together by clicking on the "Kind" column header.
Select all the WAV files and use iTunes' metadata editor to enter the album name and the artist name so that you can easily find it later when editing the other metadata tags. You could alternatively set this metadata prior to Audacity Export using Audacity's metadata editor – some users report that it is easier to use iTunes rather than Audacity to manage the metadata.
Use iTunes to make AAC copies in the library from the WAV files
Provided that you did not already have other WAV files in your iTunes library, the WAV files you need should still be the only selected tunes at this stage, providing that you have done no further clicking. Make sure that you have your iTunes Import Settings set to AAC at your required bitrate. Convert them to AAC by using the iTunes command . Note carefully that this makes a “copy” not a straight conversion – so at this stage your library will contain both the AAC and the WAV copies of the songs.
Or you may wish to use MP3 files in your iTunes library instead of AAC. In that case either export as MP3 from Audacity for import into iTunes or import WAVs and set iTunes to convert to MP3 rather than its default AAC. Note that for equivalent file size, AAC is generally reckoned to give better quality audio than MP3, but MP3 is a much safer choice if you want to send the file to someone else.
Delete the WAV files from the library
The WAV files should still remain as the selected tunes - just take extreme care at this stage (the AACs are created but selection is not forced by iTunes) So then just Delete the selected WAV files using the Delete key - and send the files to the wastebasket.
Note carefully that this workflow assumes that you have iTunes is set to copy files in, NOT to reference external files - so the WAVs that are deleted are iTunes’ copies of the original source WAVs. This is set in Edit > Preferences > Advanced with the Copy tunes into iTunes folder when adding to library tickbox.
Edit the metadata tags of the tracks/album
Edit the metadata tags for Song Name, track number etc. The album should be easy to locate in iTunes as you have already edited the Album tag in a previous workflow step above. You may wish to edit the song titles to remove the leading 01, 02 etc numbering that was applied earlier to facilitate the correct ordering of the songs.
Fetch the album artwork
Find a copy of the album artwork - either directly via iTunes if the album is recognized by the Gracenote database CDDB (but note that Gracenote does not always carry the artwork) - or by fetching it from Amazon/Wikipedia/wherever - and add the artwork to the album.
Optionally make a CD – and create cover & playlist
You may wish to burn a CD from the WAV files. In that case you can use iTunes to print CD covers with track-list and album cover.
Backup your updated iTunes library
This is a critical step – you do not want to lose the valuable fruits of your labours, do you?
We would recommend maintaining two separate backup copies of your library on external disks.
Keep the WAV files that you exported from Audacity and back those up as well (two copies) on external disks.
Delete the Audacity project and exported WAV files to release hard disk space
After the backups are made you can then safely release space on your hard drive by deleting any Audacity project you created (delete both the .auip file and the _data folder with the same name) and deleting the originally exported WAV files.
Direct AAC export from Audacity
You may if you wish export to AAC compressed format (M4A files) from Audacity for direct import into iTunes. AAC export is one of the options available in the Export menus. To export to AAC, download and install the optional FFmpeg library. The export quality for M4A can be modified using the Options button. The highest quality Audacity setting is roughly comparable to encoding to AAC in iTunes using VBR encoding at the highest bit rate preset.
