How to Convert YouTube Audio to AIFF

AIFF is an uncompressed audio format widely used on Macs and in audio editors and DAWs. Getting YouTube audio into AIFF takes two steps: first get a source file you are allowed to use, then convert it on your own computer. This guide covers both steps and explains what the conversion can and cannot do for quality.

Before you start

YouTube's terms do not allow downloading content unless YouTube provides a download feature or the rights holder permits it. The supported way to get a file is YouTube Studio, which lets channel owners download videos they uploaded. For anyone else's video, ask the creator or rights holder for the original audio, or confirm that a licence covers your use. Offline downloads in the YouTube app with YouTube Premium stay inside the app and cannot be exported as files.

• A source file you have the rights to use, such as an MP4 downloaded from YouTube Studio or the original export from your editing project
• A converter that runs locally: Audacity with its FFmpeg import library installed, or the ffmpeg command-line tool
• Enough free disk space: uncompressed 16-bit stereo audio at 44.1 kHz uses about 10 MB per minute, and 24-bit or 48 kHz files use more

Both tools below process the file on your computer, so it is never uploaded. Online YouTube-to-AIFF converters do the processing on someone else's server. Before using one, read its terms and privacy policy. Check whether it gets content in a way YouTube permits, how long it keeps uploaded files and who can access them. A service's statement that files are deleted is a claim, not something you can verify.

Step-by-step instructions

Get the source file from YouTube Studio

• Sign in to YouTube Studio with the account that owns the channel.
• Open Content and find the video.
• Open the options menu next to the video and choose Download. The file is saved as an MP4.
• If you still have the original edit or audio master, use that instead. It has not been through YouTube's compression, so it is the better source.

Convert with Audacity (Windows, macOS, Linux)

• Install Audacity and the FFmpeg library it uses for MP4, M4A and WebM files. Without the library, Audacity cannot open those formats.
• Choose File > Import > Audio, or drag the file into the window. Audacity imports the audio track and ignores the video.
• Check the project sample rate. Keep it the same as the imported track's rate to avoid unnecessary resampling, unless the place you are sending the file needs a different rate.
• Open the export dialog. In recent versions it is File > Export Audio. Older versions have a File > Export submenu instead.
• Choose AIFF as the format. Older versions may list it under other uncompressed files, with AIFF as the header option.
• Choose the encoding. Signed 16-bit PCM is the usual choice. 24-bit is fine if your DAW project uses it, but it adds no detail to audio that came from YouTube.
• Name the file and export it. Keep the original MP4 until you have checked the result.

Convert with ffmpeg (command line)

ffmpeg extracts and converts the audio in one command. Open a terminal in the folder that contains the file and run: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16be output.aiff

The -vn option drops the video stream. The pcm_s16be codec writes 16-bit big-endian PCM, the standard sample format inside AIFF. ffmpeg keeps the source sample rate and channel count unless you tell it otherwise. Add -ar 44100 or -ar 48000 only if the destination needs a specific sample rate, and use pcm_s24be instead for 24-bit output. The command writes a new file and leaves the input unchanged.

Check the output

• Play the whole AIFF through your usual output device and listen for gaps, distortion or sections that differ from the source.
• Compare the duration with the source file. The two should match.
• Check the format details. On the command line, ffprobe output.aiff shows the codec (for example pcm_s16be), sample rate and channels. On a Mac, Get Info in Finder shows similar details. If you reopen the file in Audacity, the track panel shows its sample rate.
• Compare the file size with what you would expect: roughly 10 MB per minute for 16-bit stereo at 44.1 kHz and about 11.5 MB per minute at 48 kHz.

AIFF stops any further quality loss, but it cannot undo loss that has already happened. YouTube delivers compressed audio, so detail removed by that compression stays missing. The AIFF stores the decoded audio in a larger file that is easier to edit. Background noise, clipping and low levels in the original also carry over unchanged. Fixing those is a separate editing task, not part of the format conversion.

Common problems and next steps

Audacity will not open the MP4 or WebM file: the FFmpeg library is either missing or a version Audacity does not recognize. The Libraries section of Audacity's preferences shows whether the library was found. Reinstall it using Audacity's instructions for your Audacity version, then restart Audacity.

There is no Download option in YouTube Studio: the option appears only for videos uploaded to your own channel. If it is missing for one of your own videos, check YouTube's current help for that case. For other people's videos, ask the creator for the file.

The audio plays too fast, too slow or at the wrong pitch in a DAW: the file's sample rate probably does not match the project's. Either set the project to the file's rate, or convert again with the -ar option set to the project's rate.

The file will not play on a particular device or player: AIFF support varies between apps and devices. WAV is the equivalent uncompressed format and is often more widely supported. To create one, run: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn output.wav

Title, artist or other tags are missing: tags from the source are not always carried into AIFF, and apps differ in which AIFF metadata they read. Add the tags in the app you use to manage your audio files.