YouTube Music to MP3 Audio Downloader

Download audio from YouTube Music tracks as MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OPUS, Vorbis, or ALAC. Paste your links, choose a format and quality, and get direct download links to your audio files.

🎵 What it does

Give it one or more YouTube Music links, and it will:

1. Extract the audio from each track in your chosen format and bitrate
2. Save the audio files to your Apify storage with direct download links
3. Grab track details like artist name, title, duration, view count, and more
4. Save the thumbnails (album art) with direct download links

Works with YouTube Music URLs, regular YouTube videos, Shorts, and playlists. Just copy the link from the YouTube Music app or website.

🎧 Real file downloads, not temporary links

Unlike most YouTube Music tools that only give you temporary Google CDN links (which expire within hours and get blocked when fetched from a backend server), this Actor fully downloads the audio file and stores it in your Apify storage. You get a direct download URL that:

• Works from any server, any IP, any time
• Is safe for backend integrations, automation pipelines, and programmatic access
• Can be shared directly as a download link
• Stored in your Apify storage (retention depends on your Apify plan)

📋 How to use it

Step 1: Paste your links and choose options

Add your YouTube Music URLs and select format/quality in the input. You can add up to 1,000 URLs at a time.

{
    "videoUrls": [
        "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0"
    ],
    "audioFormat": "mp3",
    "audioBitrate": "192k",
    "maxConcurrency": 3
}

Supported URL types:

• YouTube Music: music.youtube.com/watch?v=...
• YouTube Music playlists: music.youtube.com/playlist?list=...
• Regular YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=...
• Short links: youtu.be/...
• Shorts: youtube.com/shorts/...
• Playlists: youtube.com/playlist?list=... (auto-expanded into individual tracks)

Step 2: Run it

Click Start and wait for it to finish. Audio extraction is fast: most songs finish in under 30 seconds.

Step 3: Get your files

Once it's done, check the Output tab. Each result includes:

• status: "Success" or a message explaining what went wrong and what to do about it
• audioFileUrl: Direct download link to the audio file in your Apify storage
• thumbnailFileUrl: Direct download link to the thumbnail/album art
• title, channel, duration, uploadDate: Track metadata
• audioFormat, audioBitrate: The format and quality used
• fileSize: File size in bytes
• stats: Views, likes, and comments

Example output

{
    "status": "Success",
    "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)",
    "channel": "Rick Astley",
    "duration": 212,
    "uploadDate": "2009-10-25",
    "audioFileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/audio-dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "thumbnailFileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/thumbnail-dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "audioFormat": "mp3",
    "audioBitrate": "192k",
    "fileSize": 3407872
}

🎶 Audio format options

This Actor supports 8 audio formats to cover every use case:

Format	Type	Best for
MP3	Compressed	Most compatible format, works on every device and player
M4A (AAC)	Compressed	Better quality than MP3 at the same bitrate, great for Apple devices
AAC	Compressed	Advanced audio codec, widely supported on mobile devices
OPUS	Compressed	Modern format with excellent quality at low bitrates, great for streaming
Vorbis	Compressed	Open-source format, good quality at moderate bitrates
FLAC	Lossless	Compressed lossless audio, studio quality at half the size of WAV
WAV	Lossless	Uncompressed audio, large files, best for editing and production
ALAC	Lossless	Apple Lossless, perfect for Apple devices and iTunes

Quality options: auto (best available), 320k (highest), 256k, 192k (default), 128k, 64k. Lossless formats (WAV, FLAC, ALAC) always produce full-quality audio regardless of this setting.

🌐 Proxy settings

By default, the Actor uses Apify's datacenter proxies.

• Automatic (default): Apify selects the best proxy.
• Datacenter: Fast and cheap. Works for popular tracks, but YouTube may block some requests.
• Residential: Use if you get frequent "sign-in challenge" blocks. Most reliable for all tracks.
• Own proxies: Provide your own proxy URLs.
• No proxy: Disable proxies. Not recommended for YouTube.

💰 Pricing

This Actor charges per minute of audio downloaded. You only pay for successful downloads. Failed extractions are free.

The price per minute is shown on the Actor's pricing card above.

Example: A 3.5-minute song counts as 4 minutes (rounded up).

💡 Good to know

• Proxy recommended: YouTube blocks most requests from datacenter IPs. If you see "YouTube is blocking this request", switch to Residential proxy.
• Age-restricted tracks cannot be downloaded. They require a logged-in YouTube account, which this Actor does not have.
• Private tracks cannot be downloaded. You'll get a clear error message.
• Playlists are automatically expanded into individual tracks.
• Shorts work just like regular videos.
• Short links (youtu.be/...) are resolved automatically.
• Duplicate URLs are automatically removed.
• Up to 1,000 URLs per run.
• WAV files are large (about 10 MB per minute of audio). For most uses, MP3, M4A, or FLAC is recommended.
• Audio files are stored in your Apify storage. How long they're kept depends on your Apify plan.
• YouTube Music URLs and regular YouTube URLs both work. The same track is available on both platforms.

❓ FAQ

Why did my download fail? The most common reason is YouTube blocking the request. Switch to Residential proxy in the Proxy configuration input. If the track is age-restricted or private, it cannot be downloaded.

Which format should I choose?

• MP3 for maximum compatibility (works on every device and player)
• M4A for better quality at the same file size (ideal for Apple devices)
• FLAC for lossless quality at a reasonable file size (ideal for audiophiles)
• WAV for uncompressed lossless audio (ideal for editing, production, or sampling)
• OPUS for best quality at low bitrates (ideal for streaming or storage-constrained use)
• ALAC for lossless audio on Apple devices (ideal for iTunes and Apple Music libraries)

Which bitrate should I choose? 192k is a good default for most uses. Choose 320k if you want the highest quality. Choose 128k for smaller files. Choose "auto" to let the tool pick the best available quality. Lossless formats (WAV, FLAC, ALAC) ignore the bitrate setting entirely.

How long are the files stored? Audio files are stored in your Apify storage. How long they're kept depends on your Apify plan. Check your plan details for retention periods.

Can I download private tracks? No. Private tracks require a logged-in YouTube account, which this Actor does not have. You'll see a clear error message in the output.

Is there a file size limit? Audio files are capped at 500 MB. Compressed formats like MP3 and M4A are small (about 1 MB per minute at 128k). WAV files are larger (about 10 MB per minute). For very long recordings, use a compressed format instead of WAV.

Can I use this from my backend? Yes. The audioFileUrl is a direct download URL stored in your Apify storage. Unlike Google CDN links, it works from any IP and any server. This is specifically designed for backend integrations and automation. Call the Actor via the Apify API and read the dataset items to get the download URLs.

Do YouTube Music URLs work differently from regular YouTube URLs? No. YouTube Music and YouTube share the same audio content. A track available on YouTube Music can also be accessed via a regular YouTube URL, and vice versa. This Actor handles both seamlessly.

🔗 Other tools you might like

• YouTube to MP3 Audio Downloader - Download audio from any YouTube video as MP3, M4A, or WAV.

⚖️ Disclaimer

This tool is intended for personal, research, and educational use. You are responsible for complying with YouTube's Terms of Service and applicable laws in your jurisdiction. The developer is not liable for misuse. Data availability depends on YouTube at run time.

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