AAC is a lossy digital audio compression format with a better sound quality. On the other hand, MP3 is also an audio coding format used for digital audios, but it supports different media players compared to AAC. You may have music files that are in AAC format, and you want to play them on iTunes. The files will not be played. Thus you need to convert AAC to MP3 format. You may also want to convert AAC to MP3 so that you can be able to play your music on different devices such as Android, iOS or any portable device.

• Part 1. How to Convert AAC to MP3 for Mac
• Part 2. How to Convert AAC to MP3 for Windows
• Part 3. Tips about AAC Files: Protected AAC & Purchased AAC

Part 1. How to Convert AAC to MP3 for Mac

UniConverter for Mac can convert AAC to MP3 efficiently. First of all, have a look at its key features and download UniConverter for Mac, and then launch it to start the conversion of AAC file to MP3 format. Follow these simple steps!

Step 1. Add AAC audio files.

Open UniConverter for Mac. You can add AAC audio files on macOS by drag-and-drop or "Add Files" option.

Step 2: Select the MP3 as output format.

Choose Audio category and select MP3 as the target output file format. Meanwhile, you can also edit the bit rate, audio channel or audio quality settings by selecting Encode settings from the settings menu.

Step 3: Converting AAC to MP3.

After selecting and updating the output format, you can choose the location or destination. Then, initiate conversion process by selecting ‘Convert’ to complete the conversion process.

Part 2. How to Convert AAC to MP3 for Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista

You can easily convert AAC to MP3 format in your Windows PC, by using UniConverter. It supports super-speedy conversions with high quality output. First download UniConverter for Windows version, and then follow these steps:

Step 1. Upload AAC files to initiate the conversion process.

You can upload the AAC files by using the drag and drop method, or by using the ‘Add files’ option from the main interface. You can also load files directly from the hard drive or from your DVD system.

Step 2: Choose MP3 as your preferred output format.

Basically, UniConverter comprises of many file formats such as AAC, MKA, MP3, WAV and so on. However, you can also use the optimized pre-sets to convert the AAC files directly to any device supported format. You can also edit or change the audio encode settings such as bit rate, sampling rate or channel through the settings icon on the menu.

Step 3: Select your file destination and start the conversion.

Select the Output file destination or the location where the file has to be stored after conversion. If you want to create a separate folder for storing the files, you can create new folder and save it with other files in the system or you can store it in the default folder. Click ‘Convert’ to start AAC to MP3 file conversion. By the way, if you are looking for a MP3 to AAC converter, you would be happy to get how to convert MP3 to AAC.

Part 3. Tips about AAC Files: Protected AAC & Purchased AAC

First of all, let's have a declaration about what is "Protected AAC file". When you check the AAC files in your iTunes Library that you purchased earlier than 2009, you will notice that is indicated “Protected” under “Kind” on the file properties. Protected AAC music file means that the music file was purchased on iTunes Store with Digital Rights Management (DRM). The DRM was supposed to protect the files from being copied or shared. With that being said it means that Protected AAC can play on the device that was used to download it. When you try to transfer these files and paly it on other devices, it will fail to play.

What's the Difference between Protected AAC and Purchased AAC?

A Purchased AAC file is also a file that was purchased on iTunes Store, but it is DRM free. Any file that was purchased after removal of DRM in 2009 is indicated as purchased and it can be freely transferred and played on any device. Therefore, the difference between Protected AAC file and Purchased AAC file is that the Protected file has DRM rights while the Purchased AAC is DRM free. Although both files were purchased from iTunes Store, Protected files have restrictions while the Purchased can be used freely.

How To Convert AAC Protected Songs To MP3?

Now that you are in a position to differentiate between Protected AAC and Purchased AAC, you need to know how to convert the AAC protected songs to MP3. Although it may sound impossible, with UniConverter software can convert it without quality loss. ISkysoft UniConverter is a cross-platform media converter that supports audio conversions. It supports different audio formats like AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, APE, OGG, M4A, and AIFF just to mention a few. It can input any audio format and output any supported format. This batch converter can also convert videos and DVD media files. Also, it is a media downloader and recorder that support several online sharing sites such as YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, Vimeo and much more.

Nowadays, converting and editing an audio file from one format into another format become a tedious process. When applications like windows media player fail to convert AAC to MP3, you should choose a reliable and stable converting tool. You should choose the right audio converter such as UniConverter, which has many advantages such as ease of implementation, faster access, efficiency, Quality output along with wide array of amazing features.