Hijack Recorder is an Applescript I wrote a couple of years ago to automate the re-encoding of MP4 files (like those purchased from the iTunes store) into MP3 files (to play on non-Apple MP3 players). This script requires both iTunes and Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack Pro to do its job.

Hijack Recorder can take any playlist in iTunes and automatically use Hijack Pro to record all the tracks as MP3 files, stored in your user Music folder.

"Now, I don't mean to get off on a rant here" (Dennis Miller), but I don't like DRM. The entire concept seems wrong to me - I bought it, I own that copy, if I want to make copies in other formats for my enjoyment, I should be able to do so. Hijack Recorder was written with that purpose in mind. I had an extensive library of purchased iTunes albums that I wanted to make available on my iRiver MP3 player. I could have burned CDs, one at a time, and then reimported them. (So what exactly does DRM protect?) But given the number of albums, I didn't want to do that. With Hijack Recorder, I just selected all my purchased iTunes albums before I went to bed. When I got up, everything had been converted. What could be easier than that?

Hijack recorder.app Hijack Recorder executable Applescript file

Hijack recorder.scpt Hijack Recorder Applescript source file