LAME for Audacity on macOS

Here is how to install the LAME module for Audacity v1.2.x audio software on macOS.

LAME Overview

LAME is an essential module for the popular open-source audio editing software Audacity. This module is crucial for users who wish to export their edited audio files in MP3 format. Without LAME, Audacity cannot encode or export audio in this widely used and highly compatible format. LAME stands for “LAME Ain’t an Mp3 Encoder,” which is a recursive acronym and a play on words, as LAME is, in fact, an MP3 encoder.

It was initially released in 1998 and has since become the standard for MP3 encoding due to its high quality and open-source licensing. To use LAME with Audacity, users must first download and install the LAME library separately, as it is not included with the installation of Audacity due to licensing restrictions. Once installed, Audacity can seamlessly integrate with LAME, allowing users to export their projects as MP3 files effortlessly.

Installation Instructions

1. Copy both LAME for Audacity v1.3 and v1.3 to /usr/local/lib/audacity.
2. Create a soft link to LAME using the following terminal commands:
   1. mkdir /Library/LAME
   2. ln -s /usr/local/lib/audacity/LameLib /Library/LAME/
3. Locate LAME inside of Audacity v1.2.x.