2. Burn your CD

What does ‘burn your CD’ mean?

  • Burning music to a CD is the process of using a computer's optical drive to write digital audio files, such as MP3s, onto a blank CD, creating a playable disc.

What you’ll need:

  • Computer

  • CD-RW optical drive (CD burner). External optical drives, which typically connect to your computer via USB, are readily available online.

  • Media player software such as Windows Media Player (Legacy), Apple Music/iTunes or any other third-party media player application that can burn CDs.

  • Your blank CD

  • Your chosen album tracks downloaded to your computer and imported into your media player’s library.

Recommendations:

  • For compatibility with most CD players, it is recommended that you burn your CD as an audio CD instead of an MP3 or data CD.

  • A standard audio CD can store up to 80 minutes of music. Please ensure your album does not exceed this length before burning.

  • Select a slow burn speed (between 4x and 16x) to maximise reliability and reduce the risk of data errors occurring. This can usually be set from your media player’s burn settings.

  • Before burning, close any unrelated applications on your computer and avoid multitasking during the burn process to help prevent disruption to the data stream.

Please note:

  • Your CD can only be burned once. Please ensure you have completed your tracklist before burning as further changes cannot be made once the disc has been finalised.

  • Every effort has been made to ensure your CD is a high-quality disc, however, even reputable brands can sometimes produce discs that are faulty out of the box. This is usually due to manufacturing inconsistencies.

  • While it is relatively rare for CD burning to fail with modern technology, it can still happen due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, defective CDs, dirty or damaged optical drives and excessively high burn speeds. Due to the variables involved, it cannot be guaranteed that your CD will burn successfully.

  • Metadata (such as track title, artist name, artwork, etc.) is generally not included when burning an audio CD. Some applications will allow you to include CD-Text, however, this feature is not universally supported by all CD players.

How do I burn my CD?

  • The steps below offer basic guidance on how to burn your CD using Windows Media Player (PC) and Apple Music/iTunes (Mac). Step-by-step guides can also be found online if you require more specific instructions. If you are using another media player application to burn your CD, please refer to the developer’s online documentation.

Burn your CD using Windows Media Player (PC):

  1. Insert your CD: Insert the blank CD into your computer's CD-RW optical drive.

  2. Open Windows Media Player: Launch the application by searching for Windows Media Player in the Start menu. If you’re using Windows 10/11 and don’t see the application in the Start menu, it may need to be enabled first:

    • Windows 10: Select Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Manage optional features > Add a feature > Windows Media Player, and select Install.

    • Windows 11: Select Start > Settings > System > Optional Features > View features, and search for Windows Media Player Legacy. Check the box next to Windows Media Player Legacy and select Next, then Add.

  3. Navigate to the burn tab: Click on the Burn tab located in the top-right corner of the library pane.

  4. Create a burn list: Drag and drop your chosen album tracks from your library to the Burn list pane on the right. You can reorder the tracks by dragging them up or down.

  5. Configure settings: Click the Burn options button (a small checklist icon) located in the top-right corner of the Burn tab and select Audio CD. Click More burn options and set the Burn speed to Slow.

  6. Start burning: Click Start burn to begin the process.

Burn your CD using Apple Music/iTunes (Mac):

  1. Insert your CD: Insert the blank CD into your computer's CD-RW optical drive.

  2. Open Apple Music/iTunes: Launch Music/iTunes from the Dock or Applications folder.

  3. Create a playlist: Go to File > New > Playlist, then drag and drop your chosen album tracks from your library to the newly created playlist. You can reorder the tracks by dragging them up or down.

  4. Initiate burn: Select the playlist, then choose File > Burn Playlist to Disc.

  5. Configure settings: Select Audio CD and a slow burn speed (between 4x and 16x).

  6. Start burning: Click Burn to begin the process.