How to Download Music to Your Phone or Computer

With the rise of subscription-based music streaming services, you might miss the simpler days of downloading a bunch of music to your computer or MP3 player. Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways to download music, and a lot of them are free! In this article, we’ll go over the best websites and apps for downloading free music, as well as how to download tunes from your favorite subscription-based apps for offline play.

The Best Apps and Websites for Music Downloads

To find free, downloadable music, check out sites like the Free Music Archive, Jamendo, and Bandcamp. Many of these sites, like SoundCloud and Audiomack, also have mobile apps. If you subscribe to a service like Apple Music or Spotify, you can use the download feature in the app to save music for offline play.

Section 1 of 5:

Free Music Sites and Apps

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Free Music Archive Free Music Archive is a database of original, independently produced music that is free to download and share. Select your genre and enter a keyword to find songs. When you find a song you want to download, select it and click or tap thedownload button to save it to your computer or mobile device.
- There is currently no Free Music Archive app. You’ll need to visit the website to access the archive.
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SoundCloud SoundCloud is both an app and a website. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. While you can download some tracks from SoundCloud for free, others are only available if you have a subscription plan like SoundCloud Go. To download a track: ^{[1]
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- On the web, sign in to your SoundCloud account . Navigate to the song you want to download, then click More > Download file under the waveform graphic. If you don’t see the Download file option, downloads are probably not enabled for that track.
- You can’t download an actual music file from SoundCloud onto a mobile device, but you can save tracks in the app and play them offline if you have SoundCloud Go.
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Bandcamp Like SoundCloud, Bandcamp is both an app (for iPhone/iPad and Android) and a website. It allows you to support indie artists directly by buying and sharing their music. While not all music on Bandcamp is free, there are plenty of free tracks available. You can browse them here . To download music:
- If you’re using the mobile app, open an album or track and tap the download button underneath the play controls. Tap the collection tab at the top of the screen, then tap downloads to see your saved music. This will allow you to listen to your saved music even when you’re offline. ^{[2]
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  - You can save tracks within the app for offline play this way, but they won’t be downloaded directly to your device.
- If you want to download a music file from Bandcamp to a computer or Android device, you will need to buy the track or album. If it’s a free download, enter 0 in the Enter Amount field and click either Check out now or Download to your computer (depending on which option you see). Enter an email address and click OK to receive a download link. Follow the instructions in the email you receive to download the file in your preferred format. ^{[3]
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  - You can also click the collections tab on the Bandcamp website while logged into your account, then click the download link under a track or album in your collection. Or, visit the purchases page and download the track or album from there.
  - You can’t save Bandcamp tracks directly to an iPhone or iPad this way. However, you can save the tracks to your computer and then add them to your Apple device .
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Internet Archive The Internet Archive has a ton of albums, songs, and other types of audio files available for download. You can find everything from live music performances to early recordings captured on wax cylinders and 78 RPM records . Browse the collections in the main audio category , search for specific songs or artists using the search bar at the top, and use the toolbar at the left side of the page to narrow down your search.
- To download a specific track or album, click on the track/album and then select one of the download options on the right side of the page. Note that some tracks or albums are only available for streaming.
- While there’s no single app that covers the entire Internet Archive, you can download an app that’s specific to the Live Music Archive collection. Listen to music in the app or download it to your device.
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Audiomack Audiomack is similar to platforms like Bandcamp and SoundCloud. It allows you to stream and download songs directly from artists. While there is a paid version of Audiomack, you can still download songs with the free version. You can use Audiomack as a website or a mobile app, but the download feature is only available in the app. ^{[4]
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- To download a track, open the app and navigate to the song you want to save. Tap the Download icon below the artwork for the track. You can find your downloads in My Library > Downloads .
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Jamendo This platform offers music that’s free to stream or download. You can use Jamendo on the web. While there is a Jamendo app, it may be currently unavailable (at least in certain regions). On the website, click the track you want to download, then click thedownload icon to save it to your computer. Then select the option to either save a free MP3 for personal use, or buy a license to download a higher-quality file for commercial use.
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SoundClick The SoundClick website is a marketplace for musicians looking to buy and sell both songs and beats. You can browse the selection of free MP3 downloads here . To download a beat or a song, click the track to start playing it, then click thedownload icon in the lower right corner of the page.
- If you don’t see a download icon, the track isn’t available for free download. You may see an option to buy it instead.
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Musopen If you’re interested in royalty-free, public domain music recordings, Musopen.org has a nice selection. Most of the recordings are classical, so this isn’t your best bet if you’re looking for more modern tunes. You can also find free sheet music here.
- You can browse the collection of royalty-free recordings and download them to your computer here .
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YouTube Audio Library YouTube has a large collection of music, sound effects, and other audio that’s free for creators to use. To download a track, click it to start playing it, then click thedownload icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

Section 2 of 5:

Downloading Music from Apple Music/iTunes

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Open the song you’d like to download in your library. In iTunes (PC) and Apple Music (Mac, iPhone, iPad), you can download songs to your device so you can play them offline. This is different from adding music to your library, which still requires an internet or cellular connection to play the song. To download a song, open Music or iTunes and open your library.
- In Music on an iPhone or iPad, tap the Library tab at the bottom of the screen. From there, you can select Songs or Albums .
- In Music for Mac, click Albums or Songs under the Library header on the left side of the window. ^{[5]
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- In iTunes, select Music from the pop-up menu at the top of the screen, then click Library . ^{[6]
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Select the song or album you want to download and click the Download icon. The process for doing this varies depending on which version of the app you’re using.
- In Music on an iPad or iPhone, tap an album in your library to open it, then tap the down arrow button ( ↓ ) in the top right corner of the screen to begin downloading the entire album. You can also tap ••• next to an individual track, then tap Download in the menu that pops up.
  - If you’re not seeing an option to download music in the app, you may need to sync your library first. Open the Settings app, then go to Apps > Music and toggle on Sync Library . ^{[7]
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- In Music for Mac, open an album and click ↓ at the top of the track list to download the entire album. You can also hover over an individual song, then click ↓ to download just the song.
- In iTunes, clicknext to a song or album to download it.

Section 3 of 5:

Downloading Music from Spotify

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Create a playlist with the songs you want to download. If you have a Spotify Premium subscription, you can download music for offline listening on either your computer or a mobile device. You can’t download individual songs–you have to create a playlist and download that. ^{[8]
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- This feature isn’t available in the free version of Spotify.
- You can’t download music files from Spotify directly to your device. Instead, they’ll be saved in Spotify so you can access them even if you’re not connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.
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Open the playlist you want to download. You can find playlists you’ve made in your library.
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Tap or click the Download button. It looks like a circle with a downward-facing arrow inside. The playlist will be downloaded to your library.
- You can find downloaded music in Your Library > Downloaded .
- If you’re using the mobile app and want to enable downloads while using cellular data, tap your profile picture and go to Settings and privacy > Data-saving and offline . Under Downloads and streaming , toggle on Downloads over cellular .

Section 4 of 5:

Downloading Music from Amazon

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From a web browser To download music you’ve purchased from Amazon in a web browser, go to [ http://music.amazon.com ). From there: ^{[9]
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- Open Library (it’s the icon that looks like a pair of overlapping squares with a heart inside at the top of the page&tag=wikihow384570-20 music.amazon.com]. Click Purchased in the row of buttons at the top.
- Locate the song or album you want to download.
- Hover over the song or album and click •••, then select Download .
- The file(s) will be saved to your computer’s Downloads folder by default.
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From the desktop app You can also download purchased music in the Amazon Music app for PC or Mac. To get started, open the app and go to your library. Then: ^{[10]
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- Select Songs or Albums .
- Click Purchased .
- Click ••• and select Download .
- By default, the music you download from the app will be saved to your computer’s Music folder.
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From the Android app If you have Amazon Music on your Android phone or tablet, you can save music you’ve purchased directly to your device’s local storage. Here’s how: ^{[11]
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- Open Library and tap Purchased in the row of buttons at the top of the screen. You may need to scroll through the buttons to find it.
- Tap ••• and select Download .
- Locate the downloaded songs or albums in your Android’s Amazon Music folder.
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From the iOS app While you can save songs, albums, and playlists for offline play in the Amazon Music app for iPhone or iPad, you can’t access them directly on your device or play them in other apps. You can only save them within the app itself. Here’s how to do it: ^{[12]
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- Tap Library at the bottom of the screen, then navigate to the song or album you want to download.
- Tap ••• under the album/playlist art or next to an individual song, then tap Download .
- You can access your downloaded music by tapping the Downloaded music button at the top of the Library screen. You might have to swipe through the buttons to find it.

Section 5 of 5:

Downloading Free Music from YouTube

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Download and install the 4K YouTube to MP3 setup file. The popular 4K Video Downloader software has a sister app that lets you download just the audio from YouTube videos. To extract MP3 files from YouTube videos, start by downloading 4K YouTube to MP3 . This app is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- While there is a free version of this app, it’s very limited. Choose one of the subscription plans for access to more features and unlimited downloads.
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Open YouTube. Go to www.youtube.com/ in your computer's web browser.
- Unless the content you want to download is age-restricted, you don't need to sign into your Google Account here.
- You can also use 4K YouTube to MP3 to download audio from platforms like Facebook, Vimeo, Twitch, and Soundcloud. ^{[13]
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Search for the video from which you want to rip the audio, then click the video's title to open it.
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Copy the video's address. Highlight the video's whole address in the bar at the top of your browser's window, then press Ctrl + C (Windows) or ⌘ Command + C (Mac) to copy it. ^{[14]
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- If you're downloading a video from a source other than YouTube, this step may vary (for example, when downloading a Facebook video's audio, you'll right-click the video, click Show video URL , and then copy the URL there.
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Open 4K YouTube to MP3. If you haven’t already installed the app, do so now. Open the install file and follow the on-screen prompts, then launch the app.
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Click Paste Link . It's in the top-left corner of the window. Doing so will add your copied link to 4K YouTube to MP3. The audio should begin downloading automatically. ^{[15]
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Right-click the downloaded audio and select Show in folder . If you’re on a Mac with no right mouse button, Ctrl -click instead. This will take you directly to the location of the downloaded audio file on your computer.
- You can also play the audio directly from the 4K YouTube to MP3 app by clicking the triangular play icon to the left of the file’s name.
- If you’re on a Mac, you can import MP3 files into Apple Music .

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How do I download an mp3 song?

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Go to a safe download website, such as mp3.i or archive.org, and click the song you want, then download as an mp3 file. Check if the site you're using is relatively safe first. Look up its rating on the internet.

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After I download music to my desktop can I copy it to a thumbdrive?

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Yes. You can move or copy any file or folder to your USB, as long as you have enough space. It is recommended that you put the music on a CD if possible, as that is what they are there for.

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How can I transfer my music from my computer to my phone?

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Plug your phone into the computer through a USB port. You can use either iTunes or your computer's file management program to copy the files, depending on your level of comfort.

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There are plenty of online services that host free or fair use music that you can download onto your computer. Sites that do this include Free Music Archive and The Internet Archive's audio section.

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Unless you're using an Internet archive of fair use music, downloading music without paying for it generally constitutes piracy, which is illegal in most regions.

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How to Download Music to Your Phone or Computer

The Best Apps and Websites for Music Downloads

Steps

Free Music Sites and Apps

Downloading Music from Apple Music/iTunes

Downloading Music from Spotify

Downloading Music from Amazon

Downloading Free Music from YouTube

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Warnings

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