How to Burn a CD with iTunes: A Step-by-Step Guide for PC & Mac

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Make music CDs from your iTunes library with this easy guide
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Do you use iTunes for Windows to listen to and manage your music files? If you have a CD burner, you can easily use iTunes to burn a CD you can listen to anywhere. And if you have a Mac, you can burn a CD using the Music app. Read on to learn how to burn a music CD containing your favorite songs in iTunes on a PC and the Music app on a Mac.

Quick Steps for iTunes (Windows)

  1. Create a playlist containing up to 74 minutes of music.
  2. Go to View > View as > Songs to enable song view.
  3. Select the songs you want to burn to CD.
  4. Insert a blank CD-R disc.
  5. Select your playlist.
  6. Go to File > Burn Playlist to Disc .
  7. Choose your options and click Burn .
Section 1 of 3:

Using iTunes on Windows

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  1. If you haven't already made a playlist that contains the music files you want to add to your CD, you'll want to make one now. To create a new playlist: [1]
    • Click the Library tab.
    • Go to File > New Playlist , or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N .
    • Type a name for your playlist and press Enter .
    • Drag songs from your library to the playlist and arrange them in the order you want to hear them on the CD.
      • You can add around 74 minutes of music to one audio CD. [2]
  2. 2
    Enable "View as Songs." This view adds checkboxes to each track, which you can use to select the songs to add to your CD. To turn this mode on:
    • Click the View menu.
    • Select the View as menu.
    • Select Songs .
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  3. 3
    Make sure all the songs you want to add are selected. If there are no checkmarks in any of the boxes beside the songs you want to add, add them now. [3]
  4. 4
    Insert a blank CD-R. Your computer must have a CD-R drive to burn an audio CD. The easiest way to tell is to look at the optical drive on your computer–if you see DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-R, or CD-RW, you can use it to burn CDs with iTunes.
    • You can make sure your CD burner is compatible with iTunes in Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Burning . If your CD burner is listed, you can use it to burn a CD. [4]
    • If your computer doesn't have a CD burner, you can buy an external CD-R drive quite cheaply these days, including on Amazon .
    • Some CD players have a hard time playing back CD-RW discs. If you have a regular non-rewritable CD-R, that will work best for burning an audio CD .
  5. Click your playlist's name in the left-hand sidebar to highlight it.
  6. This option is in the File drop-down menu.
    • If "Burn Playlist to Disc" is grayed out or doesn't appear, it's usually because an audio file in the playlist cannot be burned to an audio CD, such as a song with DRM protection.
    • You can burn songs you bought from the iTunes Store to a CD, as well as most MP3 audio files.
  7. 7
    Customize your options.
    • To change the amount of silence between songs, choose Select Gap Between Songs .
    • If you're using an older CD burner, you can decrease the recording speed to reduce potential burning errors.
    • To ensure all songs on the CD play at a consistent volume, select Use Sound Check .
    • If you plan to play the CD in a stereo that displays text information about the songs, you can select Include CD Text .
  8. 8
    Click Burn . iTunes will now burn your CD. The process can take several minutes, so be patient.
    • If your playlist is too long to fit on one disc, you'll be prompted to insert another disc once the first is full.
  9. 9
    Print a jewel case insert (optional). If you'll be keeping your audio CD in a jewel case, you can create and print an insert that contains a list of the songs. To do this, select the playlist of songs, press Ctrl + P on your keyboard, click CD jewel case insert , and follow the on-screen instructions to print.
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Section 2 of 3:

Using the Music App for Mac

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  1. 1
    Create a playlist containing the music you want to burn. As long as you have a CD burner , you use the Music app to burn a music CD you can listen to anywhere. Your CD can even include songs you purchased from the iTunes Store. [5] To create a playlist:
    • Click the Library tab at the top of the Music app.
    • Go to File > New > Playlist .
    • Type a name for the playlist and click Create . [6]
    • Drag the music you want to add to your CD in the order you want the songs to appear. Alternatively, you can control-click selected songs, click Add to Playlist , and then click your new playlist's name.
    • You can burn up to 74 minutes of music on a single CD.
  2. 2
    Enable "View as Songs." This view adds checkboxes to each track, which you can use to select the songs to add to your CD. To turn this mode on, just click the View menu and select as Songs .
  3. 3
    Make sure all the songs you want to add are selected. If there are no checkmarks in any of the boxes beside the songs you want to add, add them now. If you don't see any checkboxes, enable them by going to Music > Settings > General and checking " Songs list checkboxes ." [7]
  4. 4
    Insert a blank CD-R. To burn an audio CD, your computer must have a CD-R drive. The easiest way to tell is to look at the optical drive on your computer–if you see DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-R, or CD-RW, you can burn a CD .
    • If your computer doesn't have a CD burner, you can buy an external CD-R drive quite cheaply these days, including on Amazon .
    • Some CD players have a hard time playing back CD-RW discs. If you have a plain, non-rewritable CD-R, that will work best for burning an audio CD.
  5. 5
    Select the playlist and go to File > Burn Playlist to Disc . If you don't see this option in the File menu, it's because there's a song on the playlist that cannot be burned to a CD, typically due to usage restrictions. [8]
  6. 6
    Select a disc format and options. Select the option to burn an Audio CD , and choose any of the following options:
    • Choose Select Gap Between Songs to change the silence between songs.
    • If you're using an older CD burner, you can decrease the recording speed to reduce potential burning errors.
    • To ensure all songs on the CD play at a consistent volume, select Use Sound Check .
    • If you plan to play the CD in a stereo that displays text information about the songs, you can select Include CD Text .
  7. 7
    Click Burn to burn your CD. The CD will begin to burn. The process can take several minutes to complete.
    • If your playlist is too long to fit on one disc, you'll be prompted to insert another disc once the first is full.
  8. 8
    Print a jewel case insert (optional). If you'll be keeping your audio CD in a jewel case, you can create and print an insert that contains a list of the songs. To do this, select the playlist of songs, press Command + P on your keyboard, click CD jewel case insert , and follow the on-screen instructions to print.
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Section 3 of 3:

FAQ

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  1. 1
    Can you rip CDs with iTunes? Yes, you can use iTunes to import music from a CD to your computer. Just open iTunes for Windows, insert an audio CD, and select Import all songs on the CD to get started. [9]
  2. 2
    Why can't I burn Apple Music to a CD? Apple Music is a subscription-based streaming service , so you don't actually own the audio files. It's not possible to burn streaming music to a CD. If you want to make a CD from the music you found on Apple Music, buy the songs from the iTunes Store instead.
  3. 3
    Why is "burn playlist to disc" grayed out on iTunes? This happens when you don't have a compatible CD burner installed on your computer. You might only have a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that can read discs but not write them. If you know you have a CD burner, there could be a problem with the burner itself or its drivers.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I fix it so my Apple songs will burn properly?
    Community Answer
    Songs from Apple Music, a subscription service offering over 30 million songs, cannot be burned on to a CD, because they were saved through the subscription service. You'll have to actually buy the song. If it is a song that you do, in fact, own, you may need to save it as a windows file, such as a WMA, instead of an Apple file.
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    Yes No
    Not Helpful 11 Helpful 55
  • Question
    Why can I only burn 18 songs onto a CD from iTunes?
    Community Answer
    You need to use CDs with a larger capacity. When you buy your CDs, look for ones with longer playing times.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  • Question
    Can I play the disk elsewhere besides my computer?
    Community Answer
    Yes, it should play on Blu-ray players and CD players.
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      Tips

      • A burned CD-R should play on most stereos. However, a CD-RW will often only play on a computer.
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      • Creating a data CD (a CD that doesn't play music, but instead stores the music files) rather than an audio CD will allow you to store more music, but you won't be able to play a data CD in a CD player.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/create-edit-and-delete-standard-playlists-itns2943/12.13/windows/10
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/intro-to-burning-cds-and-dvds-itns2957/windows
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/create-your-own-cds-and-dvds-itns2987/windows
      4. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/intro-to-burning-cds-and-dvds-itns2957/windows
      5. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/music/intro-to-the-itunes-store-mus3e2346c2/1.5/mac/15.0#gloscb359cf0
      6. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/music/create-edit-and-delete-playlists-musd5d051981/1.5/mac/15.0#mus4adab9686
      7. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/music/create-your-own-cds-and-dvds-mus890140c28/mac
      8. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/music/create-your-own-cds-and-dvds-mus890140c28/mac
      9. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/import-songs-from-cds-itns2935/windows

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open iTunes.
      2. Go to File > New > Playlist .
      3. Name the playlist.
      4. Drag songs to the playlist.
      5. Insert a blank CD-R.
      6. Select the playlist in the left panel.
      7. Go to File > Burn Playlist to Disc .
      8. Select Audio CD and click Burn .

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