How To Download a Tumblr Music Audio

Tumblr may be viewed as another breed of social media platform, but at its core it acts more along the line of a sharing platform. You can even call it a collection of blogs where people from all over the world can share personal stories and also files.

Pictures, videos, and audio files seem to be the bread and butter of Tumblr. It’s no wonder that so many people want to save their favorite items on their own drives. Given how many short posts are made on a daily basis, browsing page after page can quickly become a nightmare if you’re searching for something you can’t quite place.

However, not everything on Tumblr is worth saving. Internet trolls aside, the platform almost nudges its users towards impulse posting in order to keep the traffic numbers as high as possible. That being said, sometimes you just come across something worth downloading.

Maybe someone uploaded a cool backing track for all amateur guitarists to jam on, or someone edited another Star Wars duel with Michael Jackson sounds that would be killer as a ring tone. Here’s how you go about saving your favorite audio files from Tumblr with or without the help of third-party apps.

Download Audio via Browser

Tumblr blogs rarely come with direct download links. That doesn’t mean that taking down audio files is impossible. As long as you’re using the right browser, there is a very simple method for that. Both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox allow the users to download audio files from Tumblr. Here are the steps.

1. Access the desired page in Chrome or Firefox (Wait for the page to load)

2. Right click the audio file

3. Click on Inspect at the bottom of the list – This opens up the Chrome DevTools Elements panel. Don’t get distracted by the lines of code. All you need are the toolbars.

4. Select Network from the top toolbar

5. Select from the secondary toolbar Media

6. Play the song

7. Open the link in a new tab

8. Right click on the download button

9. Select the Save as option and choose a folder

Almost all audio files downloaded from Tumblr will be saved on your device as MP3.

Browser Alternative

DevTools may not always work. In those situations, there is an alternative you can try before resorting to buying third-party software. However, keep in mind that these methods only work if the audio was directly uploaded to the page. If you want to download embedded content, you can’t use this.

Open the page in Chrome or Firefox
Locate the audio file
Select Play
Right click on the player
Select Inspect Element
Look through the lines of code
Locate the following tag: <audio preload=”auto”>
Copy the address on the second line of code
Open a new tab and paste the link
Once you press enter the file should begin to download on its own
Right click the player and select Save video or Save audio (Optional)

Sometimes the page will open up an audio player instead of starting the download. If that happens, use step 11. Keep in mind that when using Chrome, you’ll only be able to save the song as a video file. Firefox will let you save the tune as an MP3 file.

Third-Party Programs

Similar to how you would download YouTube videos or convert them into pure audio files, you can also use third-party software to download songs from Tumblr blogs. Each program will have its own comprehensive guide. However, some programs may not technically help you download the files from the site.

Instead, a few programs take a different approach. They record the output from the site and save it in either an MP3 or WAV audio file.

Is it worth it to use such programs? – Maybe if you’re in a hurry or if your browser is not working properly. In other cases, the browser method is faster and cheaper. Third-party apps almost always aren’t free. You either have to pay to download or for a subscription.

Another reason why you might want to use a third-party program is if you’re trying to download an audio file that’s been embedded on your favorite Tumblr page.

A Final Thought

Note that these methods have worked for a long time. However, nothing is set in stone. Tumblr can always change its coding which means that using DevTools or other browser-specific methods may not be available forever.

Whether or not it’s worth paying for apps that can download music from Tumblr is debatable. There are plenty of ways to download free MP3 files online without using DevTools or subscribing to download services.