Basically, when you buy music from iTunes, it comes with a copyright protection called DRM. These DRM-protected songs are locked so that they only work with Apple MP3 players. That means that if you bought a Microsoft Zune, you cannot use iTunes music.

So, what is the solution? You have to burn a CD. When you do this, the DRM is removed (because the music is converted to a non-DRM-compatible media). After you burn the CD, you can rip it to your PC as an MP3 file which no longer has DRM.

1. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Burn your playlist to make an "Audio CD". You cannot select the "MP3 CD" option since it requires the DRM protected iTunes music files be converted to (DRM free) MP3.
3. After the audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 files.

Alternatively, you can use TuneClone http://www.tuneclone.com . TuneClone makes a virtual CD-ROM drive, tricking your PC into believing that you are burning a CD. Therefore, the DRM is removed without wasting a CD. Below is the step by step tutorial using TuneClone and iTunes 9.0.2 to convert M4P to MP3.

Step 1. Download and install TuneClone

TuneClone is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista (except Vista 64 bit) and Mac OS X 10.5 or above.

(Windows Version | Mac Version)

Step 2. Create a new playlist in iTunes

Create a new playlist, and add the iTunes songs you want to convert to the playlist.

The music downloaded from iTunes is DRM protected as M4P, or "protected AAC". If you want to play this kind of music beyond Apple environment (iTunes, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV), you need to remove the DRM and convert it to (DRM free) MP3, WMA, WAV format or else.

The following guide is going to show you how to convert iTunes M4P to MP3 for non-Apple mobile players like Zune, PSP, BlackBerry, mobile phone, Creative Zen, Sansa Fuze, G1/Gphone, xbox 360, PS3. It introduces three methods for converting M4P to MP3:

1. Burning and ripping CD in iTunes
2. Convert M4P to MP3 using Digital Music Converter http://www.softdiggs.com/digital-music-converter.php
3. Convert M4P to MP3 using M4P to MP3 Converter

1. Burning and ripping CD in iTunes

a. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.
b. Burn the iTunes M4P playlist to make an Audio CD. You cannot select the "MP3 CD" option since it requires the DRM protected iTunes M4P files be converted to MP3.
c. After the Audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes or Windows Media Player to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 files.

2. Convert M4P to MP3 using Digital Music Converter

It is very easy and fast to convert M4P to MP3 using Digital Music Converter (free download):

a. Add iTunes M4P files.
b. Choose "MP3" as the output format
c. Press the "Start" button.

"The BlackBerry Tour 9630 itself is really a mash-up of RIM's BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Storm."

One of the greatest new features I am starting to enjoy on my BlackBerry Tour is the ability for it to play multimedia files and specifically audio (music).

First let's take a look at the video and audio formats supported by the newest BlackBerry Tour 9630:

Video format support: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264 (encoding and decoding 30fps), WMV

Audio format support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus

Basically, when you purchase music from iTunes Store, you actually get DRM protected content (in protected AAC or M4P format), which you will not be able to play on MP3/MP4 players and other non-Apple mobile players. In such case, the option is to burn those tracks to an audio CD and then rip them once again to your computer hard drive wherein the DRM will be removed and you will get the tracks in (DRM free) MP3 format. After this you will be able to transfer them to your BlackBerry.

In case you have purchased a great amount of music from iTunes Store, you can go ahead and use TuneClone M4P to MP3 Converter which acts as a Virtual CD-ROM drive on your PC and lets you remove the DRM element without having to waste actual CD's, with the music ID3 tags info well preserved.

You can follow this tutorial to learn how to convert iTunes M4P to MP3 for your BlackBerry using TuneClone M4P to MP3 Converter:

How to Convert iTunes M4P to MP3?

After you get the output MP3 files, you can now begin to transfer them to your BlackBerry Tour:

1. Connect your BlackBerry to you computer via the USB cable.

You want to migrate from the iPod to the Zune but the main reason you haven't made that jump is because you have your iTunes library. I'm sure that's a very common reason for not coming over to the Zune world. (Ok, maybe not, but I'll maintain my delusion.) This is a serious issue though and if you do want to change platforms, then your only options are mostly time consuming and wasteful.

For instance, you can burn the protected M4P music files to CD-R or CD-RW disc to make an audio CD and then use some CD ripper software to convert the audio CD track back to Zune accepted MP3 or WMA. iTunes allows you to burn the protected music files to CD-R or CD-RW disc to make a standard audio CD:

1. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.

2. Burn your playlist to make an audio CD. You cannot select the "MP3 CD" option since it requires the DRM protected iTunes music files be converted to unprotected MP3 or WMA files.

3. After the audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 or WMA files.

However, it would be a time consuming process if you have a big library of iTunes M4P music files ready to be converted to Zune MP3 or WMA. Moreover, the information about the M4P music files like title, artist and album will be lost after the burning and ripping process. So this method is not recommended if you have a big collection of iTunes M4P music files ready to be transferred to your Zune.

I've made a Google search for programs that can convert iTunes M4P music to Zune WMA or MP3, and TuneClone M4P Converter attracted my attention. The edge of TuneClone over other similar programs is that it applys the virtual CD burning technology to simulates the burning and ripping process.

You can use TuneClone M4P Converter to convert your library of M4P DRM protected music to the MP3 format that you can use on any player out there worth its salt. This is a useful tool for anyone looking to break their relationship with the iPod. This software does cost $34.95 to register but that price does give you what appears to be a full feature application. The best part is that it maintains all of the music file's metadata. Wordpress has a tutorial showing how to use TuneClone M4P Converter to get iTunes 8 music converted to MP3 format.

You want to migrate from the iPod to the Zune but the main reason you haven't made that jump is because you have your iTunes library. I'm sure that's a very common reason for not coming over to the Zune world. (Ok, maybe not, but I'll maintain my delusion.) This is a serious issue though and if you do want to change platforms, then your only options are mostly time consuming and wasteful.

For instance, you can burn the protected M4P music files to CD-R or CD-RW disc to make an audio CD and then use some CD ripper software to convert the audio CD track back to Zune accepted MP3 or WMA. iTunes allows you to burn the protected music files to CD-R or CD-RW disc to make a standard audio CD:

1. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.

2. Burn your playlist to make an audio CD. You cannot select the "MP3 CD" option since it requires the DRM protected iTunes music files be converted to unprotected MP3 or WMA files.

3. After the audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 or WMA files.

However, it would be a time consuming process if you have a big library of iTunes M4P music files ready to be converted to Zune MP3 or WMA. Moreover, the information about the M4P music files like title, artist and album will be lost after the burning and ripping process. So this method is not recommended if you have a big collection of iTunes M4P music files ready to be transferred to your Zune.

I've made a Google search for programs that can convert iTunes M4P music to Zune WMA or MP3, and TuneClone M4P Converter attracted my attention. The edge of TuneClone over other similar programs is that it applys the virtual CD burning technology to simulates the burning and ripping process.

You can use TuneClone M4P Converter to convert your library of M4P DRM protected music to the MP3 format that you can use on any player out there worth its salt. This is a useful tool for anyone looking to break their relationship with the iPod. This software does cost $34.95 to register but that price does give you what appears to be a full feature application. The best part is that it maintains all of the music file's metadata. Wordpress has a tutorial showing how to use TuneClone M4P Converter to get iTunes 8 music converted to MP3 format.

So what do you think of this review? Is it fair and honest? Now let's take a look at the highlights of this review:

TuneClone V1.20 was released on September 3, 2008!

TuneClone V1.20 is a powerful DRM cracker and music converter for unlocking iTunes DRMed M4P music and protected WMA music and converting M4P, M4A, M4B, WMA to MP3, WAV and unprotected WMA.