Q: I got my husband a new Apple iPod for Christmas and we’re baffled: how do we actually get the music off CDs and onto the device so he can listen to his favorites?
A: You ask a huge, profound question though you don’t realize it! The answer will require you either to learn some new digital era skills or spend what could prove to be a substantial amount of money.
Dramatic enough? 🙂
The issue you face is that while the music on a music CD is digital, the disc itself is analog: it’s a “physical” thing. The iPod, however, has no analog capabilities and only works with digital content. So you either need to convert your analog CDs into digital form or you need to buy digital versions of the music.
All Apple devices work closely with the iTunes program on your Mac or Windows system. If you have a Mac, it’s already installed. If you’re on a PC, however, you’ll need to download and install iTunes from Apple (it’s free: www.apple.com/itunes).
Your computer does have a CD/DVD slot, right? If so, you’re in luck: once iTunes is installed, inserting a CD will automatically give you the option of copying its contents (known as “ripping”) into iTunes. That’s the analog to digital conversion I mentioned earlier.
If you don’t have a CD slot, then you’re out of luck: if your computer can’t read the music CD, there’s no way to digitize or rip its contents.
You might also be reading this and thinking “wait, I need to rip my husband’s favorite CDs, one at a time? No thanks!”
That’s a quite reasonable response. In that case you’ll just need to purchase new digital copies from the iTunes Store. You can access the iTunes Store directly from the iPod if you’re on wifi and have your device set up, but probably iTunes on your computer will prove easier.
Unfortunately, even though you’ve already purchased the rights to the music or audiobook on CD, there’s no way for Apple to verify that, and you’ll be paying full price per disc, typically around $10 each. 25 discs can then end up being $250.
Suddenly that “rip your existing CDs” solution doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
My suggestion in this sort of situation is to copy the CDs while you’re doing something else, like watching a favorite TV show or cooking dinner. Every so often you’ll remember to eject the ripped CD and insert the next. Click on the iTunes buttons as appropriate and soon enough you’ll be ready to sync the iPod with iTunes on your computer. Mission accomplished!
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Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since before the creation of the Internet and runs the popularAsk Dave Taylor — http://www.askdavetaylor.com/ — tech review and how-to site. You can also find him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.
