Exporting MP3 Audio from Audacity
Audacity is a free open source audio recording and mixing software application. It is a nice option for churches to utilize for capturing and editing sermon audio and then exporting it to MP3 format for listening over the internet.
MP3 is a compressed audio format that drastically reduces the size of your audio file while preserving it's quality.
Exporting your captured audio to the proper MP3 format is a crucial step, as it can help in the following areas:
- Much quicker audio uploads to your hosting platform
- Significantly faster downloads for your listeners
- Greater utilization of your storage space
In the video below, instructions are given on how to export directly from Audacity to an MP3 file. Note that once your Audacity program is set up with the "LAME MP3 encoder" the first time, you won't have to go through those steps again. You can just export directly to MP3 for all future recordings.
Also note that at the 3:20 mark in the video, the author shows the settings for your MP3 output. On that point, please use the screenshot below to adjust these settings to our recommended optimal sermon audio parameters instead. Here they are:
- Instead of 'Preset' choose 'Constant'
- Choose a 'Quality' setting of '64 Kbps'
- Check the 'Force export to mono' box
