How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files

If you enjoy listening to music on YouTube, the right tool can help you listen to the audio portion of your favorite videos offline. Certain websites, software, and browser extensions can strip out the audio of any YouTube video and convert it into an MP3 file, which can then be saved to your computer or mobile device.

There’s already a way to download YouTube content as video files. Here, we'll focus on the task of downloading them as audio files.

A Legal Warning
Before diving in, though, let's get one thorny issue out of the way. Is this type of conversion and download legal? That depends on the video. You can certainly convert and download your own personal YouTube videos, as well as public domain and non-copyrighted videos; just search YouTube for "public domain" and "non-copyrighted" content. But you can't legally convert and download copyrighted videos without the owner's permission.

As a word of warning, a spokesperson for Google sent me the following statement: "Our Terms of Service prohibit the downloading or copying of videos on YouTube without explicit consent from the copyright holder. Once notified of an infringing tool or service that allows the downloading of a YouTube video without permission from the content owner we take appropriate action."

Beware Some Sites
You should also be careful with online video conversion sites and anything that asks you to download files. Some of them can be buggy, or worse, try to infect your system with malware. Before you check out any such website, make sure you’re running dependable and updated antivirus software just in case.