Fix Burn Playlist to Disc Greyed Out in iTunes/Apple Music

Burn playlist to disc not available? This guide will tell you why burn playlist to disc greyed out in iTunes & Apple Music and how to fix this problem.

By @Lena Last Updated September 5, 2024

Problem: burn playlist to disc greyed out

 

Burn playlist to disc not available

I am trying to burn a playlist to a cd but the option Burn playlist to disc not highlighted in iTunes. How can I get access to that option? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance!

- Question from Apple Community

Are you experiencing the same problem as this user? Want to burn playlist to disc with iTunes or Apple Music but the option is greyed out. Why is my burn playlist to disc greyed out? How to fix this problem? Just keep reading to find the solutions.

Why is my burn playlist to disc greyed out?

There can be several different reasons why iTunes burn playlist to disc greyed out. The main reasons are as follows.

Outdated software is full of bugs and may cause burn playlist to disc not available problem. iTunes is having problems locating the burner connected to your computer or built-in. You cannot burn a disc directly from your music library. It should be a playlist. Music stored in the cloud or comes from an Apple Music subscription can’t be burned.

How to fix burn playlist to disc greyed out

You can try the following methods to troubleshoot the iTunes burn playlist to greyed out issue. These methods also apply to Apple Music burn playlist to disc greyed out.

Fix 1. Restart iTunes and computer

Restarting can help fix many common issues. Just close iTunes and restart your computer. However, restarting isn't a fix-all solution. If the problem persists after restarting, please go to the following solutions.

Fix 2. Update iTunes and Windows

When you find iTunes burn playlist to disc greyed out, you can check if the version of iTunes/Windows is up-to-date. If not, update to the latest version.

Update iTunes: go to iTunes > click Help > choose Check for Updates. If an update is available, please follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Update Windows: go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and then select Check for updates. On Windows 11, you should go to Start > Settings > Windows Update, then select Check for updates.

Fix 3. Make sure the files can be burned

You are allowed to burn a playlist, that’s to say, a list of songs. You need to create a playlist and add all the songs you want to burn to it. You can choose all the songs you need > right-click and choose Add to Playlist > New Playlist to create one.

Songs purchased from the iTunes Store can be burned to disc. However, songs that are stored in iCloud or downloaded as part of the Apple Music subscription can't be burned to disc. If you happen to want to burn those songs, then you will meet the burn playlist to disc greyed out problem.

DRM is applied to songs from Apple Music subscription to prevent them from being burned. In a nutshell, you can stream or download music via Apple Music subscription but you can not burn them to disc.

In addition, for DRM-protected songs purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store, you can only burn them 7 times. If you have exceeded the number of times, then you may find burn playlist to disc greyed out. 

Fix 4. Use the right-click option    

When you click File and want to choose Burn Playlist to Disc, it may try to burn the wrong list and the option will be grayed out if the active list is not suitable.

You can try to right-click the name of the playlist to burn it to disc to fix the burn playlist to disc greyed out issue.

Fix 5. Try other ways to burn songs to disc

If none of the above methods help you solve the burn playlist to disc greyed out problem, you can contact Apple Support for help. Go to https://support.apple.com/contact to find contact information.

Or you can try to burn songs to CD on Windows. When you insert a blank recordable CD or DVD into your optical drive, a window titled “Burn a Disc” will appear. You can choose With a CD/DVD player and click Next to complete the burning.

The songs downloaded from iTunes are usually stored in C:\users\[username]\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media. You can go to this Where does iTunes store music on PC and Mac guide to get more info.

You can also transfer music from iPhone to computer and burn them to CD. Keep reading to get the detailed steps.

Bonus: how to transfer music between iPhone and PC

When iTunes burn playlist to disc greyed out, you can choose to burn songs to CD on your computer. Prepare the song to be burned, then insert the disc and follow the on-screen instructions to burn it. If you want to burn songs on your iPhone, you can rely on AOMEI FoneBackup to help you transfer songs from iPhone to computer.

AOMEI FoneBackup is one professional iOS data management tool for Windows users, which supports data backup and data transfer. It can help you transfer music, videos, photos, contacts, etc. between iPhone and computer, between iPhone and another one. With AOMEI FoneBackup, you can transfer both purchased and non-purchased songs. What’s more, it supports data transfer between different Apple IDs, which means you can transfer songs from your iPhone to your family’s computer without effort.

Here are the steps to transfer music from iPhone to PC:

1. Download, install and launch AOMEI FoneBackup > Connect your iPhone to computer via the USB cable.

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2. Choose Phone Transfer on the left pane. Move the cursor to iPhone to PC, and click Start Transfer.

3. Click "+" icon > Choose the songs you want to transfer to computer and click OK.

4. Click Start Transfer > You can choose a location to save your music on the Transfer Settings > Click Transfer to transfer music from iPhone to the computer.

If necessary, you can click PC to iPhone to transfer non-purchased music to iPhone. It will not erase any existing songs on the device.

Final words

That’s all about how to fix iTunes burn playlist to disc greyed out issue. Hope one of the methods can help you fix the problem. You can't burn a playlist, probably because some songs in it can't be burned. You can download songs on your computer and burn them to CD on Windows directly.