Q: “I am trying to get Digital Performer 5 to export in MP3 format. The user guide is not clear enough and I’m having trouble because iTunes exports .m4p files which some people cannot open.”
A: It’s not surprising that some people cannot open .m4p files. This is basically an MPEG-4 file container for encoded audio. The encoding (or compression method) of the audio can be virtually anything, but iTunes uses AAC-based encoding. The good news is that you don’t need to use a sequencer to generate an MP3. Just save your DP5 mixdown as a 16-bit/44.1kHz audio file and then use another encoder to create the MP3. Since you’re using Digital Performer, you must be on a Mac, so go to Hitsquad.com and select a freeware encoder like BladeEnc1.4. Also, iTunes has a feature under the Advanced menu that allows you to convert any WAV or AIFF file to an MP3. For additional information, go to the iTunes Help files.