How to Download Music from YouTube to Mac (6 Ways)

If you are a YouTube Music lover, you may know that YouTube Music only supports downloading music from its Android and iOS apps and it doesn't provide any music download services for Mac (or Windows) users. If you are using a Mac, you can only play YouTube music on the web player or install the Progressive Web App (PWA) to make you have a YouTube Music app on your Mac. However, the PWA still does not allow you to download music from YouTube to your Mac due to the download service limit set by YouTube Music.

Facing such a problem, how can you download YouTube Music to Mac? Don't worry, here we will introduce 6 ways to download YouTube to Mac with the help of some YouTube music downloaders. Just keep reading the following post or watch the video guide to find out the amazing solution!

Method 1: Download Music from YouTube to Mac in Batch via Desktop YouTube Converter

After testing various YouTube Music downloaders, we found TuneFab YouTube Music Converter stands out among all of them according to its efficiency, convenience, reliability, and so on.

TuneFab YouTube Music Converter is a powerful tool that enables you to convert YouTube music to different formats that match all kinds of devices and then save the music locally on your Mac. With the YouTube Music Web Player inserted in it, you can search for your favorite music on YouTube Music and then download it through the converter, even without logging into your YouTube music account. What's more, TuneFab YouTube Music Converter offers a 14-day free trial period for you so that you can try it for days to download YouTube Music playlists and listen to them offline for free.

All these functions make TuneFab YouTube Music Converter an ideal tool to convert and download music from YouTube to Mac. Now you must be eager to know how to use it. Here are the step-by-step tutorials.

Step 1. Run TuneFab YouTube Music Converter

Download and install TuneFab YouTube Music Converter on your Mac, run it and select "YouTube". You can try its free trial version for 14 days!

Step 2. Search for Your Favorite on YouTube Music

After setting up your output preferences, you can search for your favorite music on the YouTube Music web player. Here you can log into your YouTube account to download music from it, or search for your music and drag it from Playlist to the conversion list on the right side to convert even without signing into your YouTube account.

Step 3. Select Output Parameters

On the conversion list, select output format from MP3, M4A(AAC), M4A(ALAC), FLAC, WAV, and AIFF. You can also select the output sample rate and bitrate here and apply them to all songs.

Step 4. Start to Download Music from YouTube to Mac

Click the Convert All button to start downloading music from YouTube to Mac if all settings have been done.

When the conversion is complete, you can click the file icon on the Finished interface to find the local music file. Now all the YouTube music has been saved on your Mac and you can enjoy your music right now!

Method 2: Download Music from YouTube to Mac via Browser Extension

Browser extensions are a great option to download YouTube music to Mac, and Video DownloadHelper is the one that lets you directly download music from YouTube Music or YouTube.com on Firefox and Edge. This extension can not only download videos and music from YouTube but also download them from many other 1000+ websites, making it one of the best media download extensions for browsers ever.

It supports outputting videos in various formats such as MP4 and MKV and extracting music to MP3, making it possible to make YouTube music download on Mac without application installation. However, downloading audio with this extension requires a license. You need to pay for it before downloading.

Here I am going to take Firefox as an example:

Step 1. Run Firefox browser and add Video DownloadHelper to the extension column.

Step 2. Start playing your YouTube music. A few seconds later, click the extension icon on the upper right side.

Step 3. Click on the three dots on the drop-down menu, then select "Download Audio".

 

Method 3: Download Audio from YouTube on Mac via Open-Source Tool

YouTube-dl, a versatile command-line application shared from GitHub, facilitates seamless downloads of YouTube audio/videos from various online sites. With compatibility across Mac, GNU/Linux, and Windows systems, this free YouTube Music downloader has garnered widespread acclaim for its user-friendly interface and stable performance.

NOTE: It's essential to recognize that this Terminal app needs you to enter specific commands, which is more suitable for people with advanced proficiency in computer operations or coding. Therefore, if you are less familiar with command-line interfaces or programming concepts, it's advisable for you to use another program with easier operation, like TuneFab YouTube Music Converter, instead.

Now, let's learn how to install this app and download YouTube Music on Mac with it:

Step 1. Get the download source from GitHub, and follow the introduction to install YouTube-dl.

Step 2. Once you get this app installed, run the Terminal from the Launchpad, then drag the youtube-dl program file into the Terminal.

Step 3. Open the YouTube Music website to copy the links you want to download, then type -x. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8wxsGl-rMA -x

Step 4. Run the command to begin downloading audio from YouTube on Mac by clicking "Enter". Then the downloaded music files will automatically be saved in .m4a.

Method 4: Download YouTube Music to Mac Free via VLC Media Player

Besides TuneFab YouTube Music Converter, VLC Media Player is another trustworthy media downloader for you to download YouTube to Mac for free. Many of you know it as a media player. Actually, it can rip YouTube music as well. And the operating steps of downloading YouTube music with VLC are also very simple.

Step 1. Open YouTube Music, search for your targeted music, and then copy the URL of it.

Step 2. Open VLC Media Player on Mac, click File and then choose Open Network.

Step 3. Paste the URL to the upcoming window, and then click Open.

Step 4. When playing YouTube music on VLC, you can click on Window > Media Information to copy the Location on the codec windows.

Step 5. Then, repeat the steps of clicking the Open Network options. After pasting the location information to the URL field, you should click Convert under the down arrow next to the Play button.

Step 6. Select the output format as MP3 or other audio formats on the Profile filed. Then Click Browse to choose the destination to save the downloaded YouTube Music. Finally, click Start and VLC will start downloading music from YouTube to your Mac.

Method 5: Download Songs from YouTube Music to Mac via Online Downloader (Currently Unavailable)

Soundloaders YouTube Music Downloader is an online program that can help you rip songs from YouTube Music and then download MP3 from TouTube on Mac. With this online TouTube Music to MP3 converter, you can get downloads with high sound quality and ID3 information preservation. What's more, it's totally free for you to download songs from YouTube Music and the download procedure is also very simple. See the steps below.

Remember that Soundloaders can only help you download a single YouTube Music track to Mac, while can't download a playlist or an album. If you want to download an entire YouTube Music playlist with only one click, then you can turn to TuneFab YouTube Music Converter.

Step 1. Copy the URL of YouTube Music, and paste it to the blank frame of Soundloaders YouTube Music Downloader. Then, click Search.

Step 2. When the downloader has analyzed the URL, click Download.

Step 3. When the downloading is finished, find your music on Mac.

Method 6: Download YouTube Music to Mac via QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is a built-in multimedia software on macOS. Not only can it play videos, movies, and audio files, but also it can record video and audio to multiple mainstream formats for free. With this embedded YouTube Music downloader on Mac, you can record music from YouTube Music without installing other programs.

NOTE: Although it's convenient for you to record YouTube music on Mac using QuickTime, it's a little time-consuming when you have a lot of songs to record. At this time, you can put these songs into a playlist, then use TuneFab YouTube Music Converter to download the entire playlist. With it, you can download the playlist from YouTube Music with only one click.

Here are the steps to record audio from YouTube Music using QuickTime Player:

Step 1. Go to your Applications folder and open QuickTime Player. In the QuickTime menu, click on "File > New Audio Recording"

Step 2. Next to the record button, click the small arrow to expand the recording options. You can choose the input source to select your computer's internal microphone or any other suitable audio input source.

Step 3. Ensure the input volume is at an appropriate level by adjusting the input volume slider. You can do this by clicking on the small arrow next to the record button and selecting "Input volume".

Step 4. Once you've selected the input source and adjusted settings, open YouTube Music in your browser, then click the record button to start recording.

Step 5. Play the music you want to record on YouTube Music, then QuickTime Player will capture the audio played through your computer.

Step 6. After you've recorded the desired audio, click the stop button to end the recording.

 

FAQs about Downloading Music from Youtube to Mac

How to Download Music from YouTube to Your Phone?

Actually, the online YouTube Music downloaders introduced above can also help you download tracks from YouTube on iPhone and Android for free. Of course, apart from those online programs, you can directly download audio and videos with the official mobile YouTube Music apps, as long as you subscribe to its paid premium. For detailed steps, read the following posts:

● How to Download Music from YouTube to iPhone
● How to Download Music from YouTube Music on Android

Can I Download My Entire Library from YouTube Music to Mac?

If you want to download the library from YouTube Music to Mac, there would be no direct way to do it. You have to use a third-party tool to help you download the entire library from YouTube Music to Mac.

TuneFab YouTube Music Converter should be the best one to achieve this goal since it supports batch converting that can help you download the complete playlist and albums at once. You won't miss a piece of music from your library with the help of TuneFab YouTube Music Converter.

How to Download Music from YouTube to iTunes on Mac

If you want to play YouTube music on iTunes or transfer the downloaded music to your iPhone or other iOS devices through iTunes, you can use TuneFab YouTube Music Converter to download music from YouTube to MP3 or WAV (supported by iTunes) first and then drag the music files to the iTunes library. Please follow the steps below to download music from YouTube to iTunes on Mac.

Step 1. Open iTunes and find Add to Library or File.

Step 2. Click Import and select your music to add to the iTunes Library.

Step 3. If you want to download music from YouTube to your iPhone, just connect your iPhone to your Mac with a cable and click the Entire music library, and then sync to transfer the MP3 or WAV files to your iPhone.

Conclusion

We have shown 6 methods for downloading YouTube Music to Mac. Among these ways, it is obvious that TuneFab YouTube Music Converter is the best way to accomplish the downloading. As a music download tool, it is steady, user-friendly, and safe. It will give you pleasure music downloading process and help you gain music simply. Now just download TuneFab YouTube Music Converter and try the free trial, to have a taste of what a powerful downloader should be like!