Can't burn to CD Mac iOS 13.7

I haven’t found a recent solution to this problem in the forum, so am throwing myself on your mercy. I’m using Audacity 3.6.4 on MacOS 13.7. I’ve managed to record my vinyl record and export to my desktop using Audacity, import the AIFF files into Apple Music, hear the track there (yay), but then the option to Burn to CD in the File menu is grayed out. (Note: I am able to Burn to CD other playlists I’ve had in Apple Music.) Have checked all the recommended Audacity settings and they match those recommended in manual. What am I doing wrong? Is my Mac OS too old to work with this version of Audacity? (Seems like I wouldn’t get as far as I did if it were.) Help appreciated. Am at wit’s end. Just want to get this one record done for a disabled friend of mine who wants to hear herself sing in an old 1980 college performance. Help make an old gal’s day, please? TIA.

Hi Julie

Macs do not run iOS, they run macOS. iOS is for iPhones, and iPadOS is for iPads.

And no, macOS 13 is not too old, CD burning was possible long before. But you need to use iTunes / Music.app (or any other burning software), Audacity does not provide burning capabilities.

To burn CDs using macOS / Music.app (or iTunes, depending on the macOS you use), you need to do the following:

  1. Connect an external CD/DVD writer if your Mac does not have a built-in one
  2. Create a new playlist for each CD you want to burn
  3. Move all titles into this playlist
  4. Arrange the titles within the playlist in the desired order
  5. Right-click on the playlist in the left column and select “burn to disc”. The Mac will give you some options:
  • Audio CD
  • MP3-CD
  • Data CD
    If you select Audio CD, it will play on any CD player like a CD you purchased, in the order you used when arranging the titles within the playlist.
    An MP3-CD will not play on all devices (only some of them), and it will always play in alphabetical order. So when you want to “arrange” titles, you need to do this by preceding the title name by a number.

Thank you. But I do know how to burn music to a CD, as I mentioned I was able to do. What I don’t know how to do is to digitize a vinyl record so that I can burn it to a CD. I understand that Audacity does not provide burning capabilities; as I explained, I was using that software to digitize an analog record, and I was then importing that file into Apple Music (iTunes is long gone) in order to burn it to a CD. Still not sure how to solve my problem, but thanks for the reply. And sorry to offend you with my inadvertent “i” mistake. I spend too much time on my phone…

This is not a problem with Audacity.

Are you able to burn other playlists that contain AIF files (instead of MP3 or AAC)?

Ah, so i mis-understood your original question.

To digitize a vinyl record using Audacity is actually quite simple. You need a record player (obviously), and an amplifier with a “line-out” connector.

You connect the line-out on the amplifier to an “external USB sound card”. I myself use one called “iMic” from Griffin - but these are no longer available for many years. People here usually recommend the “Behringer UCA-202”, but I have no personal experience with this device. There are many others which should also work.

If you have a Mac with a stereo “sound-in” port, you don’t need the external lUSB sound card.

You need to set the sound source in Audacity to the USB sound card (the name should always be something with “USB”) or the sound-in port of your Mac.

Then, just start recording.

After that, split your recording into the single titles and export them as MP3, AIFF, WAV or anything iTunes / Music can handle. The method to burn using iTunes / Music you know.

And no, I was not offended by "i"OS - it was just a clarification.

I have a German-language explanation on how to digitize vinyl, so if you can read German, drop me a PM with an e-mail address and I’ll send it to you or just download it.

I’m a Windows guy so I can’t be of much help, but an AIFF (or WAV) file should be fine.

As you may know CDs are 16-bit, 44.1khz, stereo, PCM. AIFF & WAV are also PCM with (some additional “computer file packaging”) so the underlying audio data can be identical.

If your files are not already 16/44.1kHz, 2-channels try opening and re-exporting in that format.

BUT… Most CD burning software will convert from all of the common formats if necessary and I assume Apple Music can do that, so that’s not likely to be the problem.

Or you might try a different burning application. The Audacity help files mention Burn.

Or… Maybe there’s something wrong with your blank disc or your CD burner. Have you tried burning a different file since you had this problem?

Thanks. I bought a new CD/DVD drive and have been able to burn other tracks, so I don’t think it’s the hardware.

I did export in AIFF with the 44.1kHz as directed by the Audacity manual. And the tracks play fine in my Apple Music.

Think I’ll try a different burning application–thanks for the tip!

You are absolutely right.It was such a simple oversight. I thought I’d put the newly digitized tracks into a Playlist. I HAD NOT. Burning to a CD requires songs be in a playlist. I am soooo embarrassed… All is well now.

See my first post, steps 1-3… :grinning:

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