How to Add Album Art and Tags to an MP3 (Free)

You send a beat to an artist or put your own song on your phone, and what do you see? "Unknown Artist", a messy file name and a gray music note where the cover should be. That's a shame, because a few clicks are all it takes to put your name, the title and album art inside the file itself. In this guide you'll learn what tags are, when they actually matter and how to add album art to an MP3 in three free ways.

Quick answer

• In your browser: open the free audio converter, pick MP3 and use the Pro option Tags and cover to add your title, artist name and cover art.
• On Windows or Mac: use Mp3tag. Select your file, fill in the title and artist, right-click the cover box and choose Add cover.... Then save.
• On a Mac with the Music app: select the song, open Get Info, go to Artwork and drag your image in.
• Working with WAV? Convert the file to MP3 or FLAC first. Cover art inside the file works much more reliably there.

What are tags, exactly?

Tags are extra info stored inside your audio file, separate from the sound itself. For MP3s they're called ID3 tags. Think of:

• title
• artist
• album
• year and genre
• album art (cover art)

Music players read that info and show it in your library, on your lock screen or in your car. If there's nothing there, you'll just see the file name or "Unknown".

When does it actually matter?

• Sending beats to artists. A rapper who gets ten MP3s can see at a glance that this beat is yours. Your name stays attached, even when the file gets forwarded.
• Demos and previews. Have to send a file instead of a link? An MP3 with a title, name and cover looks a lot more professional. For the rest of the process, read how to send a demo to a record label.
• Your own tracks on your phone. Testing your new song in the car or on your earbuds is more fun when it looks like a real release.
• For DJs. A track with clean tags is easier to find in a big library.

Important: Spotify doesn't read your tags

Releasing your song through a distributor? Then you enter the title, your artist name and your cover separately while uploading. That's what shows up on Spotify and Apple Music, not what's inside your file. So tags are mainly useful for files you share yourself. What your cover needs for a release is in cover art requirements. And how the upload itself works is in how to put your own music on Spotify.

Option 1: add tags and cover art in your browser

This is the fastest way if you're converting a file anyway, for example from WAV to MP3. Everything happens in your browser, and your audio isn't uploaded anywhere.

1. Open the audio converter and drop your file in the box.
2. Choose MP3 (or FLAC) as the format. For MP3, 320 kbps is the best choice.
3. Under Extra, turn on Tags and cover. This is a Pro option.
4. Enter the title and your artist name and pick your cover.
5. Click Convert. Your new file downloads right away, with everything in it.

With Audio Converter Pro you can also convert multiple files at once as a single ZIP. Handy when you want a whole folder of beats ready to send.

Tip: always start from your original WAV. Converting an MP3 again won't make it better. Here's why: converting WAV to MP3.

Option 2: Mp3tag (Windows and Mac)

Mp3tag is a well-known tag editor. The Windows version is free, and there's also a Mac version in the Mac App Store. It's perfect when you want to edit existing MP3s without converting them again.

1. Open Mp3tag and drag your file (or a whole folder) into the window.
2. Select the song in the list. In the Tag Panel you'll see fields like title and artist.
3. Fill in the title, artist and album if you want.
4. Right-click the cover box at the bottom of the Tag Panel and choose Add cover.... Pick your image.
5. Save with the save button or the shortcut (Ctrl+S on Windows, Cmd+S on Mac).

Select multiple files and you can give them all the same cover or artist name in one go. Is your cover a huge file? Right-click the cover box and use Adjust cover to change the image size and quality, so your MP3 doesn't get bigger than it needs to be.

The nice thing about Mp3tag: you only change the tags. The audio stays exactly the same.

Option 3: the Music app on your Mac

Already have the song in your Music library? Then you can add the cover there. This is how Apple describes it in its own guide:

1. Click Songs in the sidebar and select one or more songs.
2. Choose Song > Get Info and click Artwork.
3. Click Add Artwork and choose an image, or drag your image into the artwork area.

Note: Apple says you need to convert WAV files to another format before you can add artwork to them. You can do that for free with the audio converter.

Which image should you use?

• Square. Music players show covers as squares. A landscape photo gets cropped or looks off.
• JPG or PNG. Those formats have the widest support.
• Readable at a small size. On a lock screen your cover is only a few centimeters wide. One strong image works better than lots of tiny details.
• Only images you're allowed to use. A picture from Google isn't yours. Use your own photo or something made for you.

Don't forget the file name

Tags are great, but not every app or chat shows them. So give your file a clean name too, like Yourname - Title.mp3. For beats you can add the BPM and key, for example Yourname - Title (140 BPM, F minor).mp3. Not sure what they are? Check them in seconds with the free BPM and key finder.

FAQ

Can I add album art to a WAV file?

Not every player reads covers in WAV files, and Apple's Music app asks you to convert WAV first. If you want the cover to show up everywhere, use MP3 or FLAC for the file you share. Do keep your WAV as the original.

Does adding tags lower the audio quality?

No, tags are separate from the audio. In Mp3tag you only change the info in the file. If you convert a file with a converter, you do create a new MP3, so start from your WAV for the best quality.

Why does my phone still show the old cover?

First check that you actually saved the change. Then put the new file on your phone or into your music app again, so the app reads the new version.

Will this put my cover on Spotify?

No. For Spotify and other streaming services, you upload your cover separately at your distributor.

Sources: Apple Support, "Add artwork to music in Music on Mac"; Mp3tag documentation, "Cover Window Context Menu" and "Basics and Overview".