How to Download Music to a Recordable CD

There is no visual difference between CD-R and CD-RW discs.

Burning music onto a CD makes sharing music with others much more convenient. Out of the CDs available for purchase, there are CD-R's and CD-RW's. "CD-R" stands for "Compact Disc - Recordable," while "CD-RW" stands for "Compact Disc - ReWritable." CD-R's can only burn information once, while the more expensive CD-RW's can burn information and then rewrite over that information as many times as you need. They both function the same way, however, so downloading music onto a CD stays painless.

Things You'll Need

• Computer

Instructions

1. Insert the CD into the computer's CD drive. If you choose a CD-R, it needs to be blank to record. If you have a CD-RW, it doesn't matter. Bring up "My Computer" (or the "Finder" on a Mac) and wait for your computer to recognize the blank media disc.

2. Find the folder in your computer holding the music you want to download onto the disc. If you're not using a music software (such as iTunes), simply "Copy" and "Paste" the music folder onto the disc. This can be somewhat problematic with certain operating systems and can be done more conveniently with music library software. If you're using iTunes, simply create a playlist and highlight all the songs you'd like to go on the disc. Click and drag these to your newly created playlist. With the playlist selected, click the button on the bottom titled "Burn Disc."

3. Eject the disc out of the CD drive and test it in a different CD player. This will ensure that it works as it should. Almost all CD's can hold only about 70 minutes worth of music, so if you exceed that limit, the latter songs may not make the cut.

References

• CD-Info: How CD-R Works