This article explains how to compress M4A files with 2 excellent video compression tools, MiniTool Video Converter and AConvert. The general process involves importing the file, adjusting the compression level or settings, selecting an output path, and then starting the compression.

What Is M4A

M4A, short for MPEG-4, is an audio file format that can store various audio content like music, podcasts, and audiobooks. It is usually used for downloading audio files from Apple’s iTunes Store. M4A saves audio data in the MPEG-4 container format and encodes audio using the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) and Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC).

Why do you need to compress an M4A audio file? You may have some M4A audio files on your computer and it consumed your computer space. Or, if you need to share with others or upload to other platforms when you have poor Internet, you’d better make M4A files to reduce the file size of your audio.

Note:
To distinguish the video files and audio files of MPEG-4, we use the file extension .m4a to stand for MPEG-4 audio files and use the file extension .mp4 to represent MPEG-4 video files.

How to Compress M4A Offline

To help you compress M4A files on Windows, this part would like to recommend MiniTool Video Converter to compress them. In the following content, you will have a better understanding of those two M4A compressors and know how to make M4A compression with MiniTool Video Converter.

MiniTool Video Converter is an excellent audio file converter that supports several audio formats like MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, AIFF, OGG, M4A, etc. It allows you to compress audio files by changing its encoder, resolution, bitrate, and sample rate. Also, you can choose to compress your M4A file by converting it to a lossy audio format with a smaller file size than M4V. The below steps will guide you on how to compress an M4A file with MiniTool Video Converter.

Fast Track Steps:

  • Open MiniTool Video Converter
  • Import the M4A file
  • Configure audio parameters
  • Choose an output format
  • Start compression

The steps below will guide you on how to compress an M4A file with MiniTool Video Converter.

vc-1-logo MiniTool Video Converter
  • Batch convert video/audio files among 1000+ formats.

  • Quickly compress videos for easy storage and transfer.

  • Accurately extract subtitles from video/audio files.

  • Effectively enhance video quality.

vc-img-style-1

1. You can click the download button above to get its installation package and install it on your desktop. Then launch it.

2. To upload your M4A file, you need to click on Add Files or the Add or Drag files here to start conversion area under the default Convert Video tab.

3. To open the audio output format window, you need to click the Settings icon. Then, move to the Audio tab. Next, choose a bitrate, such as Medium Quality or Low Quality.

MiniTool Video Converter Convert Video interface showing how to choose a bitrate for the M4A file.

Then, click the Settings icon next to the bitrate; you can customize the parameters for the M4A file. Next, click the Create option to save the changes.

MiniTool Video Converter Audio Settings interface showing how to change the parameters.

4. Click the Convert button to start the compression process.

5. Finally, when the compression ends, the tool will automatically switch to the Completed tab. Then, you can click the Play icon to view the compressed M4A file and click the Folder icon to locate it.

MiniTool Video Converter Convert Video interface with the Play and Folder icons selected under the Completed tab.

What’s more, MiniTool Video Converter is an excellent converter that supports many video formats and can convert video to audio. It is also a batch video converter that can convert video and audio files in bulk at a fast speed.

Click to Tweet

3 Useful Methods to Compress Drone Video [Windows/Mac]
3 Useful Methods to Compress Drone Video [Windows/Mac]

Why the file size of your drone video is so big? How to reduce drone video file size? Are there good ways to compress drone video? Look here!

Read More

How to Compress M4A Online

If you don’t want to download any software, you can try an online tool like AConvert. It can convert and compress audio files in M4A, AAC, MP3, WAV, and other formats. Also, it enables you to convert video to audio and vice versa. You can use it to reduce your M4A audio file size. Here’s how:

Fast Track Steps:

  • Visit the AConvert audio compression interface.
  • Import the M4A file.
  • Adjust the audio bitrate.
  • Start compression.
  • End compression.
  • Download or view the compressed audio.

Here are the steps on how to compress M4A audio with AConvert.

1. Go to the official website of AConvert: https://www.aconvert.com/audio/compress/.

2. Click the Audio tab on the left side and click the Compress option on the top.

3. Click the Choose Files tab to upload your M4A file from your computer and change the bitrate percent. If the bitrate of your M4A file is 420kb and you change the bitrate percent to 60%, AConvert will compress the bitrate of your video to 252kb.

AConvert audio compression interface with the Bitrate percent set to 60.

4. Click on Submit to compress the audio file.

5. When the compression ends, click the Download icon to save the compressed M4A file to your local file. Or, click the Play icon to view it immediately.

AConvert audio compression interface with the Download and Play icons selected.

You can easily compress M4A files using either offline or online methods. After trying both, you can choose the one that suits you best.

Watch: How to Compress Audio Files Efficiently [3 Methods]
Watch: How to Compress Audio Files Efficiently [3 Methods]

This post shows how to compress audio files with Monkeys Audio, MiniTool Video Converter, and YouCompress.

Read More

Conclusion

How to compress M4A files? This article provides 2 video compressors, MiniTool Video Converter and AConvert, to reduce the M4A file size. These two tools cover both online and offline compression methods, allowing you to choose the one that best suits your needs.

If you encounter any problems using MiniTool Video Converter, you can send an email to support@minitool.com for help.

People Also Ask

Does M4A have compression?
M4A is a compressed format. It supports two types of compression: lossy and lossless. The former reduces file size while maintaining sound quality, whereas the latter preserves the original audio quality but results in larger files.

What program opens M4A files?
You can use some media players on Windows, such as VLC Media Player or Windows Media Player.

Is M4A a better format than MP3?
Yes. M4A generally offers higher audio quality than MP4 while maintaining a smaller file size.

Can I just change M4A to MP3?
Yes. You can directly convert M4A files to MP3 using a professional audio format conversion tool, such as MiniTool Video Converter.

  • linkedin
  • reddit