Want to make a music CD to use in a CD player such as a car stereo, but all you have is a folder full of MP3s? In this guide, we're going to show you the easiest way to make a properly formatted music CD that can be played in most any CD player using free software and just a few simple steps. In order to make a CD, you'll need to have a CD burner and a blank disc. The good news is that you can use almost any kind of disc burner to make a music CD Such as a DVD or Blu-ray burner.
Before we get started, you may be asking yourself – who still uses CDs? The answer to that is quite a lot of people still do. CDs are an affordable and reliable way to transport lossless audio for quick and easy playback. One of the most common scenarios for this is if you have an older car audio system that only supports traditional audio CDs. While some later car stereos support playback of MP3s off of a CD, and others support aux audio input, there are still many systems that still rely on traditional audio CDs. Other reasons could include making a CD for an event such as a conference or a wedding dinner, or any number of reasons where a good old reliable audio CD is what you need.
For this guide we are going to use Apple Music (formerly called iTunes). It's a free music management program that is available for both Windows and Mac systems. You do not need to own any Apple products in order to use Apple Music. And as mentioned above, you will need some type of a CD burner and a blank disc. It's best to use standard CD-R format discs as CD-RW's may not be compatible in as many CD players.
How To Make A Music CD From MP3s With Apple Music
To get started, your first need to install Apple Music if you don't have it already. You can download it from Apple at their official download link which is apple.com/apple-music. Note that if you were using a Mac, your system likely already has Apple Music on it – and in newer versions of OS X, it is likely in an app that is simply labeled as "Music". Once you have downloaded the installer, go ahead and run through the set up. Next, you'll need to add your MP3s or other compatible audio files into your library. Do this, choose file from the menu bar and then select import. Next you will navigate to your MP3s that you want to make a CD out of and add them to your library.
Once you have your MP3s in your library, the next step is to create a playlist. This playlist will be what goes on your music CD. To create a playlist, Right click on the left-hand side of the screen and choose new playlist from the pop-up menu. Next, navigate to the songs you want to add to the CD and drag and drop them onto the playlist entry that you just created on the left-hand side of the screen. Once you've added all of your songs, you will want to change the order of them as this will affect what order they are on the CD.
The next step is to right click on the playlist on the left-hand side of the screen and choose "Burn playlist to CD" from the pop-up menu. Follow the prompts and in a few moments your CD will begin formatting. Once the process is done, the software will alert you and your CD is now ready for playback. One final optional step would be to eject and re-insert the CD into your system and make sure that Apple Music recognizes it as a music CD. Your music CD is now ready for playback.
Image Source: Gavin Whitner