How Do I Create an Audio CD From iTunes?

So you've started to get some of your music in iTunes and you would now like to make a CD for the car or living room. What do you do? It should be obvious, right? Well, not exactly, but it is pretty easy once you know how.

Before you start, make sure you have a CD-R disc to work with. Several would be better in case it doesn't come out right at first. Most any brand will do. I'd skip paying extra for CD-RWs, and DVDs won't work for this.

Go ahead and slide the disc into your Mac. You might get a pop up that asks what you want to do when a CD is inserted. It doesn't matter much what you select. Go ahead and select Finder and move on if you don't already have a preference. If this is too confusing, wait until iTunes prompts you to insert a disc.

The process in iTunes is pretty much 2-steps: Make a playlist and select it, then choose "Burn Playlist to Disk" from the File menu.

Start by making your playlist. For details on this, review this good article from iLounge. One thing to look for while finessing your list is keeping it to a size that fit on a CD. When your playlist is selected, look at the bottom of the iTunes window for the size, seen in the image below. A standard CD will hold 650 MBs and up to about 74 minutes of music. Basically, it will hold a little more than your store-bought music CD, about 15-20 songs.



Once you've got the right songs and put them in the order you want, go ahead and hit the "Burn Disc" button along the bottom right of the iTunes frame or select it from the File menu. If you haven't put in your disc yet, do it now when it prompts you. The process should take a few minutes. In the mean time check out the…

Bonus Tip: You can print pretty cool jewel box inserts from iTunes for the music in your playlist. Explore your options by selecting your playlist and Choosing Print from the File menu. I like the white mosaic (below).

Do you have any tips to share that you've found helpful? What about more questions? Let us know in the Comments section below!

DIG DEEPER

How to create playlists in iTunes

iTunes: Creating playlists of your favorite songs

Burning your own audio CDs with iTunes

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Your Comments:

I'd like to get a little more control of the CD I burn. I'm used to using Nero in the PC world which is allows a lot more controls. For instance:
1) The CD I burn seems to play at lower volume than commercial CDs. I've set the itunes preferences for Sound Check and all the tracks play at the same volume but that volume is lower than I'd like. I'd like it to record at near maximum volume without clipping. Does the main volume slider in iTunes change the burn volume or just the playback volume? There's also a volume adjustment in the Get Info area but it's per track. Again, does it only affect playback?

2) I'd like to fade in and fade out on some tracks. I see how to do cross fading between tracks but that's a different thing. I want to fade individual tracks. Can it be done?

 Larry
 04/09/2008  at  01:38 PM

Really thanks for help. It's pretty simple Good giude!

 Pii
 05/23/2008  at  01:06 AM

thanks a lot, it was very helpful.

 Faisal
 08/30/2008  at  08:41 AM

oh gosh i've been trying to figure this out for 2 days.... if only i had seen this sooner it would have saved me a huge headache.

 VIolet80s
 10/30/2008  at  09:27 PM