How can I convert downloaded youtube videos to mp3 on mac?

Download and install the free VLC Media player and choose the Apple Silicon version:

1. Launch VLC and choose File > Convert/Stream…
2. Drag and drop your MP4 video onto the visible drop well. Do not click Open Media
3. In Choose Profile, select Audio - MP3.
   1. By default, the Customize > Audio codec is set to MPEG Audio, Bitrate:128, Channels: 2, and SampleRate: 44100.
4. Choose Destination will be Save as File.
   1. Click the Browse… button to choose a filename and save location for the audio file (e.g. Desktop)
   2. Click Save
5. Back on the Convert & Stream panel, click Save.
   1. The video will be scanned and audio written to the designated MP3 file.

Tested: VLC 3.0.21 on macOS Sequoia v15.5 with an MP4 video.

Using VLLC Media Player to convert YouTube to MP3 Mac is possible, but there are some downsides you should be aware of:

Disadvantages of using VLLC for convert YouTube to MP3 Mac:

• VLLC isn’t built specifically for downloading or converting online videos. It can open local files easily, but for YouTube, you usually need to manually get the video URL and do some extra steps, which can be a bit clunky.
• You often have to copy the YouTube URL, then use third-party tools or online services to get the video, and finally play it in VLLC or convert it. VLLC alone doesn’t directly download from YouTube.
• You might need to install plugins or use command-line tricks, which can be confusing if you’re not comfortable with technical stuff.
• VLLC can convert media files, but it’s not optimized for high-quality audio extraction from streaming videos. You might not get the best audio quality compared to dedicated tools.
• It may also struggle with certain codecs or formats, leading to imperfect conversions.

In case you don't want third-party software like VLC, Music/iTunes can encode m4a to mp3.

1. Export mp4 video to m4a with Quicktime player.
2. Go to Music > Preferences > Files > Import Settings, and select MP3 Encoder.
3. Import m4a files to Music library, and click File > Convert > Create MP3 Version

So now, you have introduced additional steps, tools, and perhaps unwanted .m4a and .mp3 files in your Music Library. Who is going to clean that up? VLC is reliable over many years of usage and is one tool with one result (MP3).

If you're comfortable with command-line tools on Mac, you can easily convert YouTube to MP3 using FFmpeg, which is a powerful, free, and open-source multimedia framework.

Here's how to do it:

1. Install FFmpeg

Once Homebrew is installed, run: brew install ffmpeg

2. Convert YouTube to MP3 using FFmpeg

Navigate to the folder containing your MP4 videos, then run this command:

ffmpeg -i input-video.mp4 -q:a 0 -map a output-audio.mp3

Replace input-video.mp4 with your video filename.

Replace output-audio.mp3 with your preferred output filename.

Example:

ffmpeg -i myvideo.mp4 -q:a 0 -map a myaudio.mp3

3. Batch Conversion (if you have multiple videos)

If you want to convert all MP4 files in a folder:

for f in *.mp4; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -q:a 0 -map a "${f%.mp4}.mp3"; done

This loop processes all MP4 files in the current directory.

Reasons to be cautious about the reasons for converting YouTube videos to MP3 online:

1. Many online YouTube to MP3 converters may violate YouTube's Terms of Service, especially if you're downloading copyrighted content without permission.
2. Some online converters may pose security threats, such as malware, adware, or phishing attempts, especially if they come from untrusted sources.
3. The output quality may vary, and some sites might produce lower-quality audio or incomplete downloads.
4. Some sites limit the length of videos you can convert or restrict the number of conversions per day unless you pay for a premium version when convert YouTube to MP3 on Mac.
5. Uploading or entering URLs on untrusted sites might expose your data or lead to privacy issues.

If you just need to extract audio from an MP4, you can use a couple of simple options on Mac:

• VLC Media Player – free, lets you convert MP4 → MP3 directly (File > Convert / Stream).
• FFmpeg – command line tool, very powerful:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -q:a 0 -map a output.mp3

• QuickTime workaround – export as audio (M4A), then use iTunes or any free converter to get MP3.

[Edited by Moderator]

I suggest that you consider trying the VLC Media Player to do the conversions.