Songwriter's Guide

Creating Your Song File

To enter American Idol Songwriter, you'll need to upload your song to us as an MP3 file. If you're thinking “MP-What-File?”, then follow the steps below for your PC or Mac.

PC Users

  • Open Windows Sound Recorder – you'll find it on your PC here: Start>All Programs>Accessories>Entertainment>Sound Recorder.
  • If you don't have a built-in microphone, you'll need to connect an external one.
  • Record your song and save it as a .WAV file on your desktop.
  • Next, download a free MP3 encoder – a quick search online should find what you need.
  • Launch your encoder and add the .WAV file you saved on your desktop.
  • Open the encoder settings and select the following:
    Bit rate: 128 kbps (or higher for even greater quality)
    Channels: Joint Stereo
    Sample rate: 44.1KHz
  • Your .WAV file is now ready to be converted into an MP3. Remember to save your converted MP3 to your desktop so it's easy to find – your file should only take seconds to convert.
  • Alternatively, you can open iTunes if you have it installed and convert your .WAV file through that.
  • Make sure your file size is no greater than 4MB, this is the maximum allowed.
  • You're then all set to check the results and upload your file.

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Mac Users

  • Open GarageBand – free with Mac OS X 10.4 (or available to buy at http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/).
  • If you don't have a built-in microphone, you'll need to connect an external one.
  • Record and save your song.
  • Select 'Send Song to iTunes' from the Share menu.
  • Then open iTunes, go to Preferences, select the Advanced tab and then the Importing tab.
  • Check your settings:
    Import Using: MP3 encoder
    Setting: Good Quality (128kbps) or higher
  • Find your song, then hit CRTL+CLICK and select Convert Selection to MP3.
  • Your file will then be saved in your iTunes Music folder on your Mac.
  • Make sure your file size is no greater than 4MB, this is the maximum allowed.
  • You're then all set to check the results and upload your file.

If your song is one of our top 20 finalists, please be prepared to provide the original source file immediately.

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Ready to Enter

Submit Your Song