I am trying to upload an m4a file, but I am getting an error message. Why?

I'm afraid that file format isn't accepted by Scratch. You will need to convert it to a .WAV or .MP3 file in order for it to work.

how do i do that

There are plenty of websites that will do it for you; just do a quick Google search. (But be careful because some websites may have viruses or weird popup ads)

tony4356767 wrote:

how do i do that

Is it an iTunes song? There is a place on iTunes site to download mp3 files instead of Apple files.

it is not, it was from garage band, but i figured it out

tony4356767 wrote:

it is not, it was from garage band, but i figured it out

If you're trying to upload the .m4a as an audio file, I believe the only accepted/compatible formats are .wav and .mp3. This means that you'll have to convert the audio to those file formats, which will most likely degrate the format/sounds.

You can do so by using quite a few file converters, but one online-based one is media.io, which is free to use and is relatively quick. Just be sure not to click the “download” link at the front page.

If GarageBand has the option to switch formats it saves as, it is much simpler to just choose .wav over .mp3.

(I'm still not sure if .mp3 files are accepted. I used to think so because of rumor and possible memory, but I can't confirm that quite yet. If I do, I'll edit this post.)

Austinato wrote:

tony4356767 wrote:

it is not, it was from garage band, but i figured it out

If you're trying to upload the .m4a as an audio file, I believe the only accepted/compatible formats are .wav and .mp3. This means that you'll have to convert the audio to those file formats, which will most likely degrate the format/sounds.

You can do so by using quite a few file converters, but one online-based one is media.io, which is free to use and is relatively quick. Just be sure not to click the “download” link at the front page.

If GarageBand has the option to switch formats it saves as, it is much simpler to just choose .wav over .mp3.

(I'm still not sure if .mp3 files are accepted. I used to think so because of rumor and possible memory, but I can't confirm that quite yet. If I do, I'll edit this post.)

The reason mp3 files are preferred is because there is an upload limit of 10meg for each Scratch sound. A 3 minute song in wav format would greatly exceed that, but would fit just fine in mp3 format. MP3 files can be 1/10 the size of wave files.