How can I get offline music on my iphone without signing up for a subscription service?

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

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El Conquistador
I occasionally like to listen to music on longer cross countries but not often enough to justify paying for a service. I have a couple of hundred CDs that would be great to loisten to. I am not very smart, so please keep it simple.

Do they still make MP3 players?
 
There are a variety of ways.

One way: use a computer with a CD drive (external USB CD drives are still available and not expensive). Use something like itunes to import the CD into the itunes library on the computer. Then sync the music with your iphone.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I occasionally like to listen to music on longer cross countries but not often enough to justify paying for a service. I have a couple of hundred CDs that would be great to loisten to. I am not very smart, so please keep it simple.
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Get an external optical drive (I got an LG for about $25), rip your CDs into iTunes, then sync them to your phone.
Morgan3820 said:
Do they still make MP3 players?
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Sure. My son took one of these to camp last summer:
 
Ever hear of a NDB?
 
Good suggestions above for listening to your own recorded stuff. Here are a couple of other options for listening through your phone.

If you're low enough to have cell service, try Spotify or Pandora. You can listen for free without a subscription, though you'll have to suffer through occasional commercials. I also use Spotify to stream aviation podcasts, like Opposing Bases.

Or, if you want radio, download an FM radio app for your phone and listen to FM broadcast.

Or maybe learn to sing... :)

(I find my passengers love it when I break into Johnny Cash while turning base to final: "I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down down down, and the flames went higher. And it burns burns burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire.")
 
download them from YT, free, to your laptop then sync the mp3s to your iphone using iTunes
 
you didnt say what type of phone. iPhone or android. iPhone is simple. Just use iTunes on your computer. You pop rgb cd into the cd drive and have iTunes download the tunes. Then just sync those tunes to your phone. Easy peasy
 
Half Fast said:
Good suggestions above for listening to your own recorded stuff. Here are a couple of other options for listening through your phone.

If you're low enough to have cell service, try Spotify or Pandora. You can listen for free without a subscription, though you'll have to suffer through occasional commercials. I also use Spotify to stream aviation podcasts, like Opposing Bases.

Or, if you want radio, download an FM radio app for your phone and listen to FM broadcast.

Or maybe learn to sing... :)

(I find my passengers love it when I break into Johnny Cash while turning base to final: "I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down down down, and the flames went higher. And it burns burns burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire.")
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You got anymore ratings you’re going for. I double dog dare ya to do that on a check ride. Like the first approach. If I was your DPE I’d say make it a full stop and taxi to parking, you pass.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I occasionally like to listen to music on longer cross countries but not often enough to justify paying for a service. I have a couple of hundred CDs that would be great to loisten to. I am not very smart, so please keep it simple.

Do they still make MP3 players?
Click to expand...
Easiest is going to be what @Bob Noel suggested. ”Rip” the CDs to your computer and move what you want to the phone. I did this for years until streaming became my main music source for the car. Native players and multiple installable ones for both Android and iOS. Your biggest limit may be your phone’s memory.
 
I once bought a cheap mp3 player from whatever rando Amazon brand. I plopped the usual artist/album/tracknum-trackname hierarchy onto it, but the tracks played in the wrong order. It turned out to play the tracks alphabetically as though all the files were in one big directory. I threw it out; life's too short for cheap garbage. Now, *second* cheapest garbage, I'll consider...
 
Half Fast said:
(I find my friends love it when I break into Johnny Cash after eating spicy Mexican the night before: "I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down down down, and the flames went higher. And it burns burns burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire.")
Click to expand...

Slightly modified...
 
GeorgeC said:
I once bought a cheap mp3 player from whatever rando Amazon brand. I plopped the usual artist/album/tracknum-trackname hierarchy onto it, but the tracks played in the wrong order. It turned out to play the tracks alphabetically as though all the files were in one big directory. I threw it out; life's too short for cheap garbage. Now, *second* cheapest garbage, I'll consider...
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That's fair, but it might be in the way that the CDs were ripped - sometimes that takes out the data that makes them play correctly. My main point was that you could also get the Bluetooth option unlike the Samsung that was linked above.

Here's a SanDisk that might fit the brand name requirement...

 
RyanShort1 said:
That's fair, but it might be in the way that the CDs were ripped - sometimes that takes out the data that makes them play correctly. My main point was that you could also get the Bluetooth option unlike the Samsung that was linked above.

Here's a SanDisk that might fit the brand name requirement...

Click to expand...
I've had good ripping experience with both iTunes and a free app called MusicBee. The latter works well if you've got no attachment to the Apple ecosystem. Both of them can automatically put a number (01...., 02...) before the song title so that they order correctly regardless of the destination system.

My car has an SD card slot in the glove box, so I've got a card in there with all the music I've ever cared about. Foldered by artist, then album. That structure is echoed on my phone and my media PC connected to my TV and receiver in the living room. No streaming or Bluetooth required for me!

Edit - one can also simply use an old smartphone as an MP3 player.
 
Problem solved. My daughter added me to her Spotify account for two dollars a month. This allows me to have off-line music. I have a good daughter.
 
Baked Potato said:
I've had good ripping experience with both iTunes and a free app called MusicBee. The latter works well if you've got no attachment to the Apple ecosystem. Both of them can automatically put a number (01...., 02...) before the song title so that they order correctly regardless of the destination system.

My car has an SD card slot in the glove box, so I've got a card in there with all the music I've ever cared about. Foldered by artist, then album. That structure is echoed on my phone and my media PC connected to my TV and receiver in the living room. No streaming or Bluetooth required for me!

Edit - one can also simply use an old smartphone as an MP3 player.
Click to expand...
I kinda do the same thing in my 76 Chevy pickup with an AM/FM Cassette player and this $20 FM Transmitter. The FM Transmitter allows Bluetooth phone calls and music from the phone over the vehicle speakers. Most of the time I just listen to the Micro SD Card loaded with music.

I like this unit also because it has a Volt Meter
:)
FMTransmit01.jpg
 
Both Apple Music and Spotify have 3 month free trials. You could get 6 months free of service if you time it right.
 
Have you considered:

Piracy.jpg


P.S. The image is named "Piracy."
 
Morgan3820 said:
Problem solved. My daughter added me to her Spotify account for two dollars a month. This allows me to have off-line music. I have a good daughter.
Click to expand...
Just be sure you have your playlists/fave albums set to download while you're on WiFi.
Otherwise once you lose cell signal in the air, POOF! Gone! Music becomes inaccessible :) (I have all my playlists auto download)
 
Morgan3820 said:
Yes. Ain't got one of them. Besides, am radio?
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I mean....970am - The Outlaw out of Maine is easy to receive just about anywhere in northern New England. Great country music from the 60s to the early 2000s.
 
In addition to the major online music services (YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc.), I really like RadioParadise.com. I've been listening to them for over 20 years. They've got apps for Android and iOS, as well as some of the home assistant and home audio automation platforms.

If RP's repertoire happens to match your taste, then it might be a good alternative for offline listening. Their Main Mix has introduced me to a lot of music I'd never have come across otherwise. There are also channels for Rock, Global, and Mellow mixes. You can download hours of any or all of those channels for offline listening (limited primarily by your device storage and download speed).

You can also rate songs, and then download hours of "My Favorites" for offline listening. Of course, you'll get more variety in your "My Favorites" stream after you rate plenty of songs. (After 20 years, I've rated plenty, and rarely hear a repeat even on long trips.)

RP is listener-supported. There are no ads and very few "station identification" breaks. I kick 'em some cash every month because I like what they do, but there's nothing to stop you from being a total leech if you want. You don't even have to create a (free!) online account if you don't want to, though you won't be able to rate music and create a "My Favorites" offline playlist if you don't.

RP's a mom-and-pop operation started by a former radio DJ and his wife. The originator has been edging into retirement for the last year or so, but his daughter has been taking over the reins and so far the transition has been very positive.

RP is somewhat like a traditional radio station rather than a streaming library. The songs play in a sequential order; you can't replay a song or search for a song and play it on demand. When playing downloaded music, the cache size decreases over time because songs are deleted after they're played. The one difference from radio: If a song comes on that you don't want to hear, you can hit the "skip track" button and move directly on to the next song. (This behavior applies both to the live streams and to downloaded playlists.)
 
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