How to compress mp3 files

Level of difficulty: Easy

Mp3 files are generally music files that are often difficult to prune. Mp3 files, by default, are pruned to an extremely low file size to facilitate easy transfer and storage. However, these file types are much regularly stored in portable media like hard disks and flash drives of a previously-determined limited capacity. While this facilitates high portability and storage capacity for files, it also means that drives could only hold a pre-determined, finite number of tracks. This is precisely why mp3 files need to be compressed.

Materials Needed:
- Specialized software
Step 1
Often, playing around with the extensions of each file could be helpful, as each extension format has its own file compression ratio. Traditionally, it has been seen that files having extensions like .m4a, .wmv and .wav have a lower file size than regular .mp3 files. Also, there are certain files like .flac that have an exceptionally large disk occupancy ratio. These files could be reformatted to the above mentioned extensions to get a lower file size. Mp3 files could also be compressed to a fair degree by programs like WinRAR, WinZip and 7-Zip. These are powerful compression tools that can compress mp3 files without any perceptible loss in audio quality or fidelity.
Step 2
Mp3 files have a particular bit-rate count, and it is noted that larger mp3 files have a considerable larger bit-rate count. Decreasing the bit-rate setting to a well-balanced speed would be instrumental in securing a lower file size for mp3 files. However, one must exercise caution regarding tinkering the bit rate setting, as too low a setting would definitely reduce audio quality. Normally, a bit rate of 192 is considered to ideally suitable for smaller mp3 file sizes.
Step 3
In any software like Blaze Media Pro, DietMp3 or dedicated compression tools for mp3 players and phones, compressing mp3 files is well-guided and pretty easy. Within a few clicks, one could drag and drop the required files from any explorer window (or click the ‘Add’ tab) into the compression window. From there on, the process is initiated on clicking the ‘Compress’ option, after which the compressed files are saved in the default folder. To change the destination folder, one could always click the ‘Browse Location’ window in the compression menu, and select another default location for storing the compressed mp3 files. Often specific music-edition cell phones and Mp3 players also come with bundled compression software packages. Although their compression ratios might differ, most work through similar selection and compression procedures.