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How to record Apple Music on a Mac

Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.

Only partly. Apple Music subscription tracks are DRM-protected, and in the author's testing on macOS 26.4.1 some Apple Music playback captures as silence under ScreenCaptureKit, the API AirCheck and other modern recorders use. Songs bought from the iTunes Store are a different case: Apple sells them as DRM-free 256 kbps AAC files that already sit on your disk, so there is nothing to record. Apple's terms prohibit circumventing its security technology.

Can you record Apple Music on a Mac?

It depends on what is playing, and the honest answer is: test 10 seconds before you rely on it. Three kinds of content live in the Music app.

So a capture is only interesting for subscription content, and that is exactly where the protection may silence it.

Why does an Apple Music recording come out silent?

Because protected playback happens in a path that ScreenCaptureKit does not receive. The framework's own description is broad, "Stream screen content and audio to your app with fine-grained control over what you capture", but what macOS hands it for DRM content is silence, the same way Apple TV+ video hands a screen recorder black frames. The Netflix and Apple TV+ page explains the mechanism.

How to tell DRM silence from a broken setup:

  1. Play a YouTube video and record 10 seconds. If that file has sound, the permission and device are fine.
  2. Play an iTunes Store purchase or an imported file in the Music app and record 10 seconds. If that has sound, the Music app itself captures.
  3. Play an Apple Music subscription track. If only this one is silent, it is the protection, not a bug.

If step 1 is silent too, the cause is the Screen & System Audio Recording permission or an output-device mismatch; see why is my Mac not recording sound.

Do I need to record iTunes Store purchases at all?

No. They are already DRM-free AAC files. Find them with Get Info in the Music app, which shows the file's kind and location, or look in ~/Music/Music/Media. If you need another format, the Music app converts without recording:

  1. Choose Music > Settings, click Files, then Import Settings.
  2. In the Import Using menu, pick the target format (MP3 Encoder, WAV Encoder, Apple Lossless) and click OK.
  3. Select the songs and choose File > Convert > Create MP3 Version (the menu names the format you chose).

Apple's guide adds that converting between compressed formats reduces quality; AAC to MP3 is one more lossy pass. If a WAV is needed for a DJ set, convert to WAV, which adds no loss. None of this applies to subscription tracks: Apple's guide says the convert command works on iTunes Store purchases only if they are iTunes Plus, and Apple Music downloads stay protected.

Does capturing Apple Music Lossless keep it lossless?

No, on two counts. First, Apple Music Lossless is ALAC "up to 24-bit/48 kHz" and Hi-Res Lossless "up to 24-bit/192 kHz" (Apple's figures). A system-audio capture through ScreenCaptureKit arrives at 48 kHz, the framework's default, so a 96 or 192 kHz Hi-Res track is resampled on the way in. Second, the capture happens after decoding and after any protection, and where the protection yields silence there is nothing to keep.

If lossless files are the goal, the routes that work are buying from a store that sells ALAC, FLAC or WAV, or ripping your own CDs into the Music app as Apple Lossless. A 24-bit 48 kHz capture of a 320 kbps or 256 kbps stream is 16.5 MB per minute of file for a lossy signal. The 16-bit vs 24-bit page has the general rule.

What do Apple's terms say about recording Apple Music?

Not legal advice. Apple's Media Services Terms and Conditions state, under Services and Content Usage Rules: "You may not tamper with or circumvent any security technology included with the Services or Content," and you may not "use any software, device, automated process, or any similar or equivalent manual process to scrape, copy, or perform measurement, analysis, or monitoring of, any portion of the Content or Services." DRM-free purchased content, by contrast, "can be used on a reasonable number of compatible devices that you own or control."

So for subscription tracks, both the protection and the contract point the same way, and Apple's terms say that when the subscription ends you lose access to your iCloud Music Library. If you want to keep a song, the route Apple provides is the iTunes Store purchase, DRM-free at 256 kbps AAC. A capture does not circumvent anything, and where it yields silence this page offers no way to change that.

Apple Music content types and what a Mac capture gets

ContentDRMCapture result on macOS 26.4.1Max source qualityBetter route
Apple Music subscription stream or downloadYesSilence observed on some content; not guaranteed either way256 kbps AAC, or ALAC up to 24-bit/192 kHz on Lossless tiersKeep subscribing, or buy the track
Apple Music Lossless / Hi-ResYesSame as above; a working capture is resampled to 48 kHz24-bit/48 kHz or 24-bit/192 kHz ALACBuy ALAC/FLAC or rip your CD
iTunes Store purchase (iTunes Plus)NoCaptures, but pointless256 kbps AACUse the file; convert in the Music app
Your own imported filesNoCaptures, but pointlessWhatever you importedUse the file

Quality figures from Apple's lossless audio and iTunes Store support pages. Capture results are the author's observations, not a guarantee.

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck ($39 one-off, macOS 14 or newer) records system audio through ScreenCaptureKit and does not attempt to bypass Apple's protection, so it is not a reliable way to record Apple Music subscription tracks and does not claim to be. Where it genuinely fits: recording the DRM-free things you play through the Music app or any other source, such as your own productions, radio, YouTube or Spotify, as one WAV or MP3 320 file. If you bought it expecting Apple Music captures and they come out silent, the 14-day refund applies.

When you do not need it: For iTunes Store purchases and your own imports you already have the files; convert them in the Music app or with afconvert. For subscription tracks, buying the song from the iTunes Store is the route that gives you a DRM-free file.

AirCheck records what your Mac plays, or any input, to one file. $39 once.

Buy AirCheck for $39

macOS 14 or newer. One-off payment. Fourteen-day refund, no questions asked.

Questions people ask

Can you screen record Apple Music on a Mac?

The built-in screen recorder captures the picture and optionally your microphone, never the Music app's audio, so the .mov is silent. A system-audio recorder can capture unprotected playback, but Apple Music subscription tracks are DRM-protected and may capture as silence.

How do I convert Apple Music songs to MP3 on a Mac?

Only DRM-free songs convert. In the Music app choose Music > Settings > Files > Import Settings, pick MP3 Encoder, then select the songs and choose File > Convert > Create MP3 Version. Apple's guide says iTunes Store purchases convert only if they are iTunes Plus; Apple Music subscription downloads do not.

Are iTunes Store songs DRM-free?

Yes. Apple's iTunes Store guide says all songs offered by the store come without DRM protection, are called iTunes Plus, have no usage restrictions and are encoded at 256 kbps AAC. Purchases made before 2009 could be protected; those are the exception Apple's conversion note refers to.

Why does my Apple Music recording have no sound?

Most likely the DRM on subscription content, which ScreenCaptureKit receives as silence. Confirm by recording 10 seconds of YouTube and 10 seconds of an iTunes Store purchase; if both have sound and only the Apple Music track is silent, it is the protection, not your settings.

Sources

Hannes Hennerbichler builds AirCheck and records his own DJ sets with it through a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Every step on this page was run on the macOS version stated above. Drafted with AI assistance, checked and edited by the author. About