MP3 to MP4
Put a cover image under your MP3 and download a video file. Or choose a moving visual. Preview it first. It runs on your device.
Your files never leave your browser. The video is rendered and recorded on your device.
A picture under the song is a start. Melodious makes the music video — See the music video maker
How to convert an MP3 to an MP4 with a picture
To convert an MP3 to an MP4, choose the MP3 in the tool above, choose a cover image, and press Record video. The page plays the audio, draws your picture to a canvas as it plays, and your browser records canvas and audio together into one video file. The download button appears when the track ends. Everything happens on your device, so an unreleased track and your artwork are not sent anywhere.
Before you record, press Play to check the look. The preview shows exactly what will be recorded: the picture at the size you chose, the title and artist line if you typed one, and the moving visual if you switched it on. Changing the picture, the fit, the size or the text updates the preview straight away.
The recording is real time. A browser captures video as it plays and cannot skip ahead, so the wait equals the length of the song, even when the picture never changes. Start it, leave the tab visible, and come back when the button says Download your video.
What you get
One video file with your audio and your picture, at 1,280 by 720 for a 16:9 frame, 720 by 1,280 for 9:16, or 1,080 by 1,080 for a square, at 30 frames per second. The container is MP4 where your browser records MP4, otherwise WebM, and the file name says which. There is no watermark, no end card and no limit on how many you make. The inputs are an audio file up to 100 MB and a picture up to 25 MB.
You can show the picture on its own, or switch on Show the moving visual on top and choose from five styles: bars, waveform, radial, mirror or circle, in four colour schemes. Or leave the picture out and use a moving visual alone, which is the same tool as the audio visualizer.
Picture on its own, or with a moving visual
A single cover under the audio is what most people want. It is quick to judge, it keeps the artwork clean, and it is the standard way a song is put on YouTube before it has a video. It is also the choice when the picture already says what the song is: a single cover, an album sleeve, a lyric card exported from a design tool.
A moving visual on top of the picture shows that the file is playing, which can help in a feed where a still frame looks like a failed upload. Keep it simple: the Bars style reads well along the bottom of a cover, Mirror grows out from the middle, and Circle sits in the middle of a square. For a visual with no picture at all, see the audio visualizer and the sound wave generator, which run on this engine.
Sizes for YouTube, Reels, TikTok and Shorts
Use 16:9 for YouTube and for anything that plays in a landscape player. Use 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, where the video fills a phone screen. Use 1:1 when you are posting to a feed that crops to a square. If you only have a square cover, the 1:1 size shows it exactly, and in the other two sizes the Fit option decides whether it is cropped to fill the frame or shown whole.
If you are not sure your artwork is the right shape or resolution, the cover art size checker compares an image with each platform's published requirements, and the guide to album cover size and dimensions covers the numbers.
Why a platform needs a video and not an MP3
An MP3 is audio only. Video platforms are built around a picture track, so YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook will not take an MP3 as a post. The fix is to give the audio a picture, and the simplest picture is your cover art. The result is an ordinary video file with one image that never changes, which is what many official audio uploads on YouTube are.
That is the job here. The tool adds a video track and packages it with your audio. It is not a replacement for delivering your MP3 or WAV to a distributor, which should always be the original file.
What this tool does not do
It records in real time, so it cannot convert faster than the song plays. It uses one picture for the whole track, so a slideshow or changing scenes are not possible here. It does not hold the audio at its original quality, because the video's audio is compressed again when the browser records it. And it makes MP4 only where your browser can record MP4, so Firefox, and Chrome on some machines, give a WebM. If you need to convert many files, or need exact control over bitrate and codec, use FFmpeg or a video editor.
When you want more than a picture
A still cover is a fine way to get a song online. When the song should have scenes, characters and a story, that is a different job. Melodious reads your file, plans a storyboard scene by scene and renders a video to your audio. It is a paid product, from $29/month, and you see the storyboard and the price before anything renders. The MP3 to video page explains the route from a single file, and the AI music video generator page shows what comes out.
For a straight comparison of the two approaches, the post on music video vs music visualizer helps you decide how much effort a track deserves.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a picture to an MP3?
Choose your MP3 with the button above, then choose a JPG, PNG or WebP as the cover image (the background already opens on Cover image; switch it to Moving visual if you want bars instead). Pick Fill the frame or Show the whole image, add a title and artist name if you want them, press Record video, and download the file when the track ends. The picture and the audio are combined into one video file on your device.
Why does YouTube need a video, not an MP3?
YouTube is a video platform, and its upload form takes video files. An MP3 has no picture to show, so it is rejected or left unprocessed. Putting your cover art under the audio gives YouTube a file it accepts, and it also gives people something to look at while the song plays. Most uploads of a song on its own are exactly this: one image and the audio.
Is there a watermark?
No. The video is built on your device from your audio and your picture, and nothing is stamped on it. There is no logo in the corner and no end card. The only text on the video is the title and artist name if you type them in.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The MP3 and the image are read by your browser and the video is recorded on your device. Nothing is sent to a server. You can check in your browser's network tab while you record, or go offline once the page has loaded and it still works. That matters for tracks that are not released yet.
Will my MP3 become an MP4 or a WebM?
The tool asks your browser for MP4 first. Safari records MP4, and recent versions of Chrome can too. Firefox records WebM. If your browser cannot record MP4, you get a WebM, and the file is named .webm so there is no confusion. YouTube takes both. If a platform insists on MP4, a WebM can be converted for it with HandBrake or FFmpeg.
How long does MP3 to MP4 conversion take?
As long as the song. The browser records the video as the track plays and cannot skip ahead, so a three-minute MP3 takes three minutes, and the tab has to stay open and visible while it runs. A desktop video editor or FFmpeg will convert faster than real time, which is worth knowing if you have a lot of files.
What size should the picture be?
Anything from about 1,000 pixels up is fine. For a 16:9 video, a 1,920 by 1,080 image fills the frame at its sharpest. A square cover fills a 1:1 video exactly. Very large photos are scaled down inside the page before recording, so they stay quick to draw. Images up to 25 MB are accepted.
Can I make a vertical video for Reels, TikTok or Shorts?
Yes. Pick the 9:16 size and the frame becomes 720 by 1,280. Use Fill the frame to crop a landscape picture to the middle, or Show the whole image to keep all of it with bars above and below. The 1:1 size makes a 1,080 pixel square for feed posts.
Can I put the song title and artist name on the video?
Yes. Type a title and an artist name under the preview and they appear centred near the top of the frame, over a soft dark fade so they read on any picture. A long title wraps onto two lines and shrinks to fit the width. Leave both boxes empty for a clean picture.
Does converting an MP3 to MP4 lower the audio quality?
A little, and it is worth knowing. The video's audio track is compressed again when the browser records it, as AAC in an MP4 or Opus in a WebM. An MP3 that is already compressed loses very little more at normal settings. It is a shareable copy, not a replacement for the MP3 or WAV you deliver to a distributor.
Want scenes that move with the song?
Attach the MP3 and describe what you want. An AI director storyboards it scene by scene and renders it to your audio. Plans from $29/month.
Start your videoMore tools: MP3 to video · Audio to video · Audio visualizer · WAV to MP4 · M4A to MP4 · FLAC to MP4 · Sound wave generator · Cover art size checker