Mp3 In Computer: How To Save Them

Introduction

Many people don't buy music on cassette tapes and compact discs anymore. Today, people simply navigate to one of numerous websites that either offer music for download or playback right in the Internet browser. Usually, when you pay for an album and download the digital audio files to your hard drive, it is yours to keep and own. However, when you subscribe to a website that plays the song inside the Internet browser, a process known as streaming, you don't completely own the song. Also you have to continuously visit the music service's website and re-initiate the stream in order to hear the same song play again. Streaming consumes Internet speed, which is not helpful if other computer users in your home share the same network on a router. Whatever is your predicament, you can capture and save MP3 in your computer.

Step 1

Download and install the Firefox Internet browser, if you don't already have it installed on your computer. Other browsers might include Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari browsers. You can install and use multiple browsers on a PC simultaneously or at different times. However, it is the Firefox browser that has the best capability for helping you save MP3 in your computer.

Step 2

Download and install the FlashGot add-on for the Firefox browser. An add-on does just that -- it adds extra functionality to your browser that isn't included in the original development. In the case of the FlashGot add-on, it adds the ability to detect MP3 in the Internet browser as you hear music playing from the web page. Normally, the link to streaming music files is invisible or in the background. For example, if you listen to music on Billboard's or the AOL Music websites, you see the following web addresses in the address bar in Firefox and in other browsers: billboard.com or music.aol.com. However, this does not show the link to the actual song as an MP3 in Firefox. FlashGot detects the direct link to the song.

Step 3

Navigate to the website that you have an account for listening to music as MP3 in the browser. As mentioned before, Billboard and AOL have music services, but other services might include Yahoo! and MySpace. Begin playing your MP3 in the Firefox browser.

Step 4

Look at the status bar at the bottom of the Firefox Internet browser while the MP3 is playing in the webpage. Find the animated FlashGot icon. The icon is generally orange in color. Right-click on the FlashGot icon, and you will see a pop up menu that rises from the status bar. Verify that the name of the streaming MP3 is a match for the name of the song that you want to save to your computer. For example, if you are trying to save an MP3 from your favorite artist, John Doe, that will appear in the title of the stream. If you don't see the FlashGot icon or it does not show the name of the MP3 of interest, then the streaming media may be in a format that is unfamiliar to the FlashGot add-on.

Step 5

Left-click on the FlashGot icon, which opens a dialog box where you can save the MP3 in your computer's hard drive. Click the OK button to capture the file. Wait about five minutes for the download to complete; Firefox may show a message at the bottom of the browser's window indicating the progress of the download.

Step 6

Open the captured MP3 in any playback application on your computer, such as Windows Media Player.

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