In recent years, users have increasingly turned to streaming services to listen to music. But sometimes situations arise when you have to do it the old-fashioned way, downloading tracks to a USB drive. We’ll tell you how to do it.
Why download music to a flash drive
Although there are dozens of streaming services today, they do not work everywhere, and some tracks may not be in the catalogs. In addition, when traveling abroad or in places without a stable Internet, it is convenient to have local files. Some collectors, inspired by personalities like Karl Lagerfeld, prefer to store their music library offline, for example, on a USB stick.
How to download music to a flash drive from a PC or laptop
For convenience, we will break the process into several stages.
Preparing the flash drive
- Connect the USB drive to a free port on your computer;
- Open “My Computer” (Windows) or “Finder” (Mac) and make sure that the flash drive is recognized by the system;
- If necessary, format the drive to FAT32 or exFAT (if you plan to use it in multiple devices).
Downloading music from the internet
- Open a site with legal music files. For example, Bandcamp, SoundCloud (where downloads are allowed) or online stores;
- Select the desired compositions and download them to your computer.
Copying Music from PC to Flash Drive (Windows)
- Find the downloaded audio files in the Downloads folder or other specified directory;
- Select files, press Ctrl + C to copy;
- Open the flash drive and paste the files using the combination Ctrl + V;
- Safely remove the flash drive, connect it to another device and make sure that the files are played correctly.
Copying Music from Mac to Flash Drive
- Open Finder and go to the folder with the downloaded tracks;
- Select files, press Cmd + C to copy;Open the flash drive via Finder and paste the files using Cmd
- Safely remove the flash drive, connect it to another device and make sure that the files are played correctly.
Some services (for example, Spotify, Apple Music) allow you to download tracks, but in encrypted format. To save music in MP3, you will need to purchase files officially or use alternative stores.
Now you have a local collection of your favorite music, accessible without the Internet, ready to listen to at any time.