How do I get music from CD to MP3 on my computer? (Windows)

Step 1: Download MusicMatch
www.musicmatch.com
The first step is to download a copy of MusicMatch, and install it in the Program Files directory on your computer. This is the only software you will need to encode mp3s from your Audio CD.

Step 2: Making an MP3 file.

Put the CD you want to encode into your computer's CD drive. Open the MusicMatch Jukebox. Click on the red REC button in the Player to open the Recorder. A window will appear listing the tracks on the CD with track numbers. If you're connected to the Internet, the names of the songs, the artist and album name will be filled in. If you do not have an Internet connection or the CD information is not returned, you may type titles in the available fields.

Click the box next to each track you want to make into an MP3 file. When you have finished choosing the tracks click the "start" button found in the upper left side of the window. Sit back and wait for a few minutes while the track is encoded into the .mp3 format.

Step 3: Playing your file.

Now that you have made an MP3 of your track, you can listen to it. Click the musical note icon at the bottom left of the Player window to open the Music Library. The track you've recorded will now be listed in the Music Library database, with some windows blank to enter in custom information (for instance Genre, Tempo or Mood. Simply double-click the tracks to add to the player, or drag them into the Playlist window. Click the Play button when you are done and your track(s) will start playing.

How do I convert WAVs to MP3s and MP3s to WAVs?

You can use MusicMatch 3.1 to encode your WAV to MP3 or decode MP3 to WAV. In MusicMatch Jukebox go to Options, then File. You will see a menu with options to convert MP3 to WAV or WAV to MP3. There are also MP3 players that can decode an MP3 into a WAV file, WinAmp www.mp3.com/software/windows/encoders.html for additional programs able to encode and decode files.

How do I get my MP3 onto a CD?

Follow the instructions above to turn an MP3 into a WAV. When you have a WAV file you can record that on an audio CD with a CD recorder program, like Easy CD Creator: www.adaptec.com/products/overview/ecdc.html
For a detailed explanation, read the recent MP3.com article It Really Is Easy (To Make Your Own CDs) www.mp3.com/news/154.html or CD Page's CD to mp3, and Vice Versa Tutorial - www.cdpage.com.

Can I encode a MP3 straight from the CD?
Yes, see above.

More details: www.mp3.com/faq/making.html

See also: www.GuitarSite.com/mp3.htm