MP3 File (What It Is & How to Open One)

How to open, edit, & convert MP3 files

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on July 8, 2021

What to Know

  • An MP3 file is an MP3 Audio file.
  • Open one with VLC or iTunes.
  • Convert to WAV, M4A, OGG, etc. at Zamzar.com.

This article describes what MP3 files are, the best ways to open one, and how to convert one to M4A, WAV, and other formats.

What Is an MP3 File?

A file with the MP3 file extension is an MP3 Audio file developed by the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG). The abbreviation stands for MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III.

An MP3 file is normally used to store music data, but there are lots of free audiobooks that come in this format, too. Due to its popularity, a variety of phones, tablets, and even vehicles provide built-in support for playing MP3s.

What makes MP3 files different than some other audio file formats is that their data is compressed to reduce the file size down to just a fraction of what formats like WAV use. This technically means the sound quality is reduced in order to achieve such a small size, but the tradeoff is typically acceptable, which is why the format is so widely used.

Screenshot of several MP3 files in Windows 10

How to Open an MP3 File

You can play MP3s with lots of different computer software, including the default music player in Windows, VLC, iTunes, Winamp, and most other music players.

Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can play MP3 files without a special app, like from right within the web browser or Mail app. The same is true for Android devices, Amazon Kindle, and others.

If you're trying to find out how to add MP3s (or other supported audio formats) to iTunes so that you can sync them with your iOS device, see our guide on importing music into iTunes.

Do you need to cut, or shorten an MP3 file instead? Skip down to the section called "How to Edit an MP3 File" for ways you can do that.

If you find that an application on your PC does try to open the file but it's the wrong application or you'd rather have another installed program open it, see our How to Change the Default Program for a Specific File Extension guide for making that change in Windows.

How to Convert an MP3 File

There are lots of ways to save MP3s to other audio formats. The Freemake Audio Converter program is one example of where you can convert it to WAV, WMA, AAC, and other similar formats. Plenty of other MP3 converters can be downloaded through our list of free audio converter software programs.

Most of the programs seen in that list can also convert MP3 to M4R for an iPhone ringtone, but also to M4A, MP4 (for making a "video" with just sound), WMA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, AIF/AIFF/AIFC, and many others.

If you're looking for an online MP3 converter that's easy to use, we recommend Zamzar or FileZigZag. All you have to do there is upload the file to the website and then choose the format you want to convert it to. You then have to download the converted file to your computer in order to use it.

The Bear File Converter is another online tool that lets you save your MP3 file to the MIDI format as a MID file. You can also upload WAV, WMA, AAC, and OGG files. The file can come from your computer or a URL if it's stored online.

Use Converter App's MP3 to TEXT tool to save the MP3 to a TXT file. It's remarkably accurate, and even works with songs.

Although this technically isn't considered "converting," you can upload an MP3 file directly to YouTube with web services like TunesToTube and TOVID.IO. They're meant for musicians who want to advertise their original music and don't necessarily need a video to accompany it.

How to Edit an MP3 File

MP3Cut.net is a website that can quickly trim an MP3 file to make it not only smaller in size but also shorter in length, Some other editing tools there include a volume, speed, and pitch changer.

Audacity is a popular audio editor with lots of features, so it's not as easy to use as the one we just mentioned. However, it's great if you need to edit out the middle of the MP3 file or do advanced things like add effects and mix multiple audio files.

Before you download and use Audacity, be sure to review its privacy policy to ensure you’re comfortable with its terms.

Editing MP3 metadata in batches is possible with tag editing software like Mp3tag.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How can I trim an MP3 file in Windows Media Player? Windows Media Player doesn't allow you to edit MP3 files by default. But, a third-party plugin such as SolveigMM WMP Trimmer can turn it into a multimedia editor.
  • How can I save a file in Audacity as an MP3? Go to File > Export > Export as MP3. You can edit the bit rate, quality, and speed settings if you want. Choose a folder to save the MP3 in and give it a new file name, then select Save.
  • How can I add a picture or album art to an MP3? Using iTunes, right-click on the song you want to add artwork to and select Song Info. Then, select the Artwork tab > Add Artwork. Navigate to the image you want to use and select Open > OK.
  • How can I make an MP3 file smaller? Open the file in one of our recommended music editor programs such as Audacity, and try re-encoding the file at a smaller bit rate. You can safely go down to 128 Kb without sacrificing too much audio quality. Most listeners can't tell the difference between something recorded at 128 Kb and something recorded at a higher bit rate.
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