How to Download Music from YouTube to USB (PC/Phone)

Despite streaming YouTube Music online, sometimes you probably desire to keep your favorite songs on portable devices like a USB drive, so that you can save your device storage and even bring YouTube Music downloads to play elsewhere with ease, like on televisions or in a car.

This post will guide you on how to download music from YouTube to a USB, including detailed steps using workable tools like TuneFab YouTube Music Downloader to download YouTube Music to MP3/FLAC and then transfer it to your USB drive. Read on to get started!

Can You Download Music from YouTube to USB Directly?

No, you can’t. Although YouTube Music Premium lets you download songs for offline listening, those files are DRM-protected cache files. You could technically drag those files to a USB stick, but there is no way they will play or be useful. General limitations of downloads on the YouTube Music app:

• Playback Restricted to YouTube Music App: Downloads can only be played offline within the YouTube Music app on mobile devices.
• Access Limited to Subscription Period: Downloads will be deleted when your YouTube Premium subscription expires unless you keep renewing it.

So basically, if you want to save your music onto a USB for further storage or playback on other devices and not just some files that you cannot use, you have to convert your YouTube Music downloads into general audio formats such as MP3 or FLAC and then copy those files onto the USB. In the following, I will show you how to do that with a computer.

1. How to Download Music from YouTube to USB with Laptop/Macbook

There are many tools that help download YouTube music to common formats, and here I will introduce the best one.

Oriented for the YouTube Music streaming platform, TuneFab YouTube Music Converter provides the professional ability to bypass the sophisticated YouTube Music DRM encryption and decode it, helping to extract audio and download music from YouTube Music to MP3, M4A, and more regular formats.

The program will keep YouTube Music downloads lossless, with FLAC or WAV format, or up to 320kbps MP3 selections to output music. Once you get YouTube Music tracks as DRM-free local files, you can directly import them to your USB drive and stream them on any device later on.

Next, please also walk through the manipulation guide and see how to remove YouTube Music DRM to download music from YouTube to USB via TuneFab YouTube Music Converter. There are only a few very simple procedures that need to be followed.

Step 1. Open YouTube Music Web Player in TuneFab

Install the program on your computer and try the free trial before subscribing to TuneFab YouTube Music Converter. Launch the software, then click "YouTube" on the main interface.

Step 2. Add YouTube Music from Web Player

TuneFab YouTube Music Converter doesn't force you to log in to your account to utilize its download function. So in the built-in web player, you can directly browse the songs or playlists you wish to download to USB. Subsequently, simply drag them to the conversion list aside.

Step 3. Configure Output Parameters

Next, adjust the output format, bitrate and sample rate according to your needs.

Step 4. Remove DRM and Download Music from YouTube Music

Eventually, please tap the Convert All button to initiate the music download in no time. The program will batch-process them for you. Just wait for a moment, then the downloaded YouTube Music songs can be exported in your selected format as well as quality in DRM-free status. You can access them under the Finished module and click on the little folder icon to open the output destination folder.

Step 5. Move YouTube Music to USB

On Windows

Step 1. Insert the USB stick to your desktop, and then open File Explorer.

Step 2. Navigate to the folder where you save the downloaded YouTube Music files.

Step 3. Highlight all files you desire to transfer to USB, then right-click on them and select Send To. Tap the detected USB stick and it will be moved to its folder for preservation.

On Mac

Step 1. For Mac users, you probably need to prepare an adapter and insert the USB flash drive to let your computer detect it first.

Step 2. In Finder, access the downloaded YouTube Music files you have prepared to transfer to USB.

Step 3. Directly highlight them and drag them to the detected USB drive on the left panel to complete the file transfer.

2. How to Download Music from YouTube Music with Android Phone/Tablet

YouTube songs can be downloaded to the USB drive, and not just on computers. If you are an Android user and have an OTG adapter cable, it will be easy for you to do the conversion, too. The process is just like it is on a computer: download your songs with the YouTube music downloader and then move them to your USB drive.

1. Make sure your phone supports OTG functionality—some older or lower-end models might not.

2. It’s best to use a USB drive formatted as exFAT for better compatibility with Android devices.

Online YouTube Music downloaders are equally fine if you'd rather not install any software. YTMP3 offers pretty easy-to-grasp functionality, enabling you to convert YouTube Music to MP3 and then download songs directly to your desktops or mobile phones. More importantly, YTMP3 is completely free to use! You will not cost a penny but directly grasp YouTube Music downloads as DRM-free music files in good quality offline.

Now, also grasp the way to download music from YouTube to a USB drive on Android:

Step 1. In a web browser, go to the YTMP3 website.

Step 2. Paste the YouTube Music URL into the bar, and hit "Convert".

Step 3. Simply hit the Download and the files will be saved by default to your phone’s “Downloads” folder or the browser’s default download location.

Step 4. Connect your Android phone to the USB device using an OTG adapter cable. Your phone will usually show a “USB connected” notification—make sure the connection is successful.

Step 5. Open your file manager app and locate the music files you just downloaded.

Step 6. Copy or move those files to the connected USB storage device.

FAQs About How to Download Music from YouTube to a USB

Q1: How much space do I need on my USB drive for music downloads?

The time it takes usually depends on the number of songs, audio format, bitrate, and the length of each track. Make sure your USB drive has enough free space to hold all your downloads.

Here’s an estimate of typical file sizes based on a 4-minute average song length:

MP3 is most widely supported and space-efficient. FLAC is a popular lossless format that compresses audio without quality loss, so file sizes are much smaller than WAV but bigger than MP3.

Q2: What Should I Keep in Mind When Downloading YouTube Music to USB?

To select the best YouTube Music to USB converter, you should consider the following aspects:

• Converter Selection: Choose a reliable YouTube Music converter that avoids ads and malware, ensuring a secure and smooth downloading experience.
• Format Compatibility: Make sure the converter supports common audio formats compatible with USB drives, such as MP3, WAV, and AAC.
• Audio Quality: Opt for a converter that maintains high audio quality, ideally one with customizable quality settings, to ensure your offline music sounds as good as the original.
• File Size Management: Consider how the converter handles file sizes to ensure they fit on your USB drive. Efficient compression without significant quality loss helps manage storage space effectively.

Conclusion

This ultimate guide walks you through downloading from YouTube Music to USB, both from a computer and through an Android phone. The method remains the same: You download the songs in MP3s and then copy them into your USB.

Both ways indeed work, but I personally prefer the computer route. While using such software as TuneFab YouTube Music Converter, the whole playlist could be downloaded at 35X faster speeds, so it would save much time. Secondly, the computer tends to be more compatible with USB formats, while Android sometimes would cause file errors or compatibility issues.

Hope this helps!