How to split an MP3 into individual tracks for free

When you convert a cassette tape or vinyl record into MP3, you usually get one long file per side. That’s fine for singles, but what if you have albums? You’ll probably want to split the recording into individual tracks to get the full convenience of digitizing it. Here’s the method I use to convert a record or tape into individual MP3 tracks.

First, you need to get your recording. I’m going to assume you already have a USB turntable or some other suitable solution for recording your records or tapes.

Once you have your recording, there’s a free program that splits a recording up into individual tracks. It’s not super easy to use, but it’s a lot less painful than any other method I’ve found. It also runs on any platform because it’s written in Python. It’s called album-splitter.

All I had to do to install it was to install Python (available from the Microsoft Store on Windows; Linux and Mac systems probably already have it), then open an administrative command prompt and type the command pip install album-splitter. If you have Linux or a Mac, use the command sudo pip install album-splitter.

Then build a file called tracks.txt and save it in the same folder as the album recording. Include the track title and the starting time of the track. Here’s an example tracks.txt that works well:

Beautiful Imbalance 00:00
Matchstick Floatilla 04:01
The Grinding Stone 08:38
Killer For You 13:13
Rochdale House 17:31
Biba’s Basement 21:44

Then, from the directory containing the recording and tracks.txt, run this command:


album-splitter --file "Thrashing Doves - Bedrock Vice.mp3" --album "Bedrock Vice" --artist "Thrashing Doves"


Substitute the name of the file, album, and artist. It will automatically split the album and tag each track with the artist and album name.

Make your split MP3s look professional

Next, to get album art and tag the release date and other metadata, you can use MusicBrainz Picard. Drag the tracks into the MusicBrainz UI, hit Cluster, then hit Lookup. If Lookup fails, hit scan. It will identify the album. If it doesn’t like certain tracks, you can drag the strays over to the match. Picard does fuzzy matching, but sometimes the match just isn’t good enough for it to be willing to ID it.

You can delete or edit any tags you wish by double clicking in the bottom pane.

When you’re happy with it, click Save.

It’s less work to buy the MP3s. But when you can’t buy the MP3s because the band and album are forgotten and never made it to digital, this gives you a way to rip and mix those tracks from obscure artists and enjoy them.

I use Jellyfin to store my music and make playlists. I enjoy finding decades-old playlists from long gone radio stations, or finding airchecks and building playlists that imitate those old airchecks.

Today, any type of oldies station brags about playing the songs that stood the test of time. But the problem is, playing the same hundred or so songs gets very repetitive very quickly. In some cases, those forgotten songs are hidden gems, as good in most ways as the songs that did stand the test of time, maybe falling a bit short in production quality. And some of them are mediocre. But the best bands recorded a lot of mediocre songs too. Their mediocrity elevated their best work. Having some contemporary mediocrity in your playlists helps extend the list, make them less repetitive, and in some cases, hearing a mediocre track in context with other songs from the time elevates the mediocrity too.

So go ahead. Rip some mediocre vinyl and tape and incorporate it in your playlists. I think you’ll enjoy the authenticity of the listening experience.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.