It happens most of the time that you may want to record audio from YouTube. For example, you may come across a video with a piece of lovely music that you want to save as MP3 or any other audio format. Or, you may want to convert a YouTube inspirational audiovisual into an audiobook. Whichever the case, this article will teach you multiple ways on how to record audio from YouTube with simple steps.
Part 1. Best audio recorder for YouTube - Wondershare UniConverter 13 (Windows/Mac)
Wondershare UniConverter 13 is the best Windows and macOS app to record music from YouTube with all original quality. It's super simple to use and supports recording audio from 10,000+ platforms, including YouTube, Vine, Vimeo, TikTok, Likee, and more. Now back to the day's topic, UniConverter allows users to extract YouTube to MP3, M4A, or WAV. In addition to that, you can edit your audio by trimming, merging, copying, deleting, and adjusting volume. And yes, users can record high-quality YouTube videos before saving to MP4, VOB, FLV, MTS, etc.
Wondershare UniConverter - Best Software to Record Audio from YouTube on macOS 10.9+ & Win 10/8.1/8/7.
Record audio from YouTube in MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, and other formats.
Record audio from thousands of video-sharing sites, including Vine, Vimeo, Likee, TikTok, etc.
Extract videos from YouTube in MP4, MOV, FLV, MTS, AVCHD, and more.
Edit extracted audio by splitting, trimming, copying, deleting, and adjusting the audio quality.
Below is how to record music from YouTube on a computer with UniConverter 13:
Step 1 Launch the Audio Recorder tool
Install and run UniConverter 13 on your computer and then tap the Screen Recorder tab. Then, you'll see functions for Screen Recorder, Webcam Recorder, and Audio Recorder. In this case, click the former to launch it.
Step 2 Choose an output format and recording devices.
Do you want to record YouTube to MP3, M4A, or WAV? Whichever your format choice, open the Format menu and choose your desired output format. For the best results, disable the Microphone or voice narration recording.
Step 3 Download YouTube to audio quickly and losslessly.
After choosing an output format, search and play the YouTube video you wish to record. Then, head back to UniConverter and click Rec. The program will capture the YouTube video with lossless quality. Lastly, click Stop once you've recorded enough audio content. That's it!
Wondershare UniConverter - Best Olympics Video Highlight Maker for Mac/Windows
An easy-to-use video editor to make your sports videos stand out.
Excellent screen recorder for capturing lossless Olympic Games with picture-in-picture and voice overlay.
Robust DVD burner to save Olympic video highlights on Blu-ray or DVD.
Best highlight video editor for macOS 10.9+ & Window 10/8/1/7.
Add or remove image and text watermarks from your videos effortlessly.
Pro Tip: You can edit the YouTube audio to make it more interesting to listen to on your playback device. To do that, click the Add to Another List menu on the recorded audio and then choose Converter. Now click the Converter tab and click the Trim or Crop icons to edit your music file professionally.
Part 2. Other 8 alternatives to record music from YouTube
1. YouTube to MP3 Converter
YouTube to MP3 is an online platform that works smoothly on mobile phones and computers. With it, you can download YouTube video clips on the ad-free UI without registering anywhere. After pasting the YouTube video URL on the site, users can extract MP3 in varying bitrates or MP4. Then, you can save your MP3 audio directly on your local storage or cloud services.
Key features:
- It supports 1000+ websites, including YouTube.
- Directly convert YouTube to MP3 or MP3.
- Upload converted files to Dropbox or Google Drive.
- It offers a clean, ad-free user interface.
2. Audacity
Audacity is a free, open-source app for Mac, Windows, and Linux computers. On Audacity, you can record live MP3 from YouTube or any other audio source. It supports 32-bit, 24-bit, and 16-bit recordings with sampling quality processed using high-quality resampling. After extracting audio, Audacity allows you to retouch it by cutting, splitting, merging, copying, deleting, adding sound effects, and more. And, of course, you can export audio to MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, etc.
Key features:
- Free, open-source app.
- Cross-platform support.
- Record live audio from YouTube.
- Easy audio editing tools.
3. Y2Mate
Y2Mate is an online platform for converting YouTube clips to MP3 with a mere mouse click. Here, you just paste the video URL link, and Y2Mate will process your MP3 audio in seconds. You can choose to extract MP3 in varying qualities, including 320Kbps, 256Kbps, 192Kbps, and more. Apart from MP3, this app can also convert YouTube to MP4 or low-quality 3GP for older Android phones. However, the ads can be a bit overwhelming.
Key features:
- Cross-platform support.
- Extract YouTube to MP3, MP4, or 3GP.
- Process MP3 audio up to 320Kbps.
- No sign-up is required.
4. AceThinker Music Recorder
AceThinker Music Recorder is a beautiful app that allows you to record audio from YouTube on Mac or Windows computers. This software can stream and record your favorite music from YouTube, Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, SoundCloud, and more. You can even record internet radio stations like BBC Radio, Worldwide FM, and Cinema. After that, you can trim, merge, and add effects to audio before exporting to MP3, AAC, M4A, or WMA.
Key features:
- Easily record music from multiple streaming services.
- Record music from internet radio stations.
- An excellent music converter and editor.
- Export music to AAC, M4A, WMA, or MP3.
5. Apeaksoft Screen Recorder
For just $19.96, you'll get a flexible computer screen recorder that can capture almost any activity on Mac or Windows. With this software, you can capture YouTube videos with lossless quality and save them to MP3, M4A, AAC, or WMA. While recording, you can choose to enable or disable microphone or system sounds. Moreover, you can record gameplays and directly share them on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.
Key features:
- Record high-quality videos from YouTube, Dailymotion, etc.
- Capture videos up to 60 frames per second.
- Convert captured videos to MP3, AAC, M4A, or WMA.
- Affordable purchase price.
6. Airy
First of all, it's disappointing that this software only offers a 24-hour free trial. But to its defense, there is no much to learn here. That's because you only need to copy the video URL and paste it on Airy. After that, you can choose to import the video in MP4 or MP3 format. That's just about it!
Key features:
- Available on Mac and Windows.
- Convert YouTube to MP4 up to 1080p.
- Download YouTube to MP3.
- 24-hour free trial.
7. Streaming Audio Recorder
Streaming Audio Recorder allows audiophiles to record music from video-sharing platforms, international radio stations, and music streaming sites losslessly. After downloading music, you can manually edit tags like the year, genre, artist, and so on. Besides, Apowersoft Streaming Audio Recorder can encode internet videos to MP3, OGG, FLAC, M4A, and more.
Key features:
- Record online music and radio stations effortlessly.
- Directly download internet music to MP3.
- Edit audio by cutting, merging, mixing, etc.
- Burn CD quickly and easily
8. EaseUS RecExperts
Finally, you can check out EaseUS RecExperts for Mac and Windows if you want to capture any sound on your computer. This app is simple to comprehend and comes with a powerful audio recorder for converting YouTube to FLAC, M4A, OGG, MP3, and more. In addition to music, this program also lets you capture top-quality videos on your computer. And yes, you can trim, copy, paste, and delete your recording before saving it.
Key features:
- Compatible with Mac and Windows.
- Convert YouTube to MP3, FLAC, M4A, etc.
- Record desktop screens with lossless quality.
- Record screen, webcam, and microphone concurrently.
Part 3. FAQs about recording audio from YouTube
Q1. Is converting YouTube to MP3 illegal?
As you can see above, it's absolutely possible to download and listen to YouTube music offline. That notwithstanding, it's illegal to download and listen to any copyrighted music. In fact, YouTube's Terms of Service prohibit users from extracting videos for offline playback. Fortunately, nobody has been arrested and prosecuted by YouTube for violating this law to date.
Q2. What is the best free MP3 converter?
If you have an entertaining MP3 file that you want to convert into any other file format, use UniConverter 13. With this tool, you can encode MP3 to OGG, M4A (iPhone ringtone), AU, FLAC, and many other audio formats. Not only that, but UniConverter can also adjust audio settings like sampling rate, bitrate, channel, duration, volume, and eliminate background noise.
Conclusion
All in all, it's illegal to download a video from YouTube directly. So, stay safe by using UniConverter to record music from YouTube or any other video/music streaming site. You can also check out a robust free option like Audacity, which offers a ton of audio manipulation tools. Nonetheless, it's a good practice not to download music directly from YouTube. Enjoy!