In today's technology friendly and media crazy society, many people are choosing to manipulate digital information as they wish for various projects of their choosing- some more artistic then others. This is no more evident than in the world of song editing software, where music provided in a digital format (e.g. wma, mp3, aac, etc.) are changed in one way or another for the use of the owner.

There are countless reasons for manipulating digital media, from converting a track from one digital format to another to lengthening and/or shortening a track for use in a film. However one should always establish what platform (PC or Max) they will be working in prior to changing anything. Once this is established, it is simply a matter of determining what you want to do and choosing the appropriate song editing software. For example, one of the most common manipulations of song is in converting them from one audio format to another. Thus, one would need software that specializes in audio conversion. Examples of this software would be programs like Tunebite, Switch Plus, or Sound Taxi to name a few. 

There is a distinction between song converting software and song editing software. Song editing software is typically more inclusive meaning that it has the capabilities to do more than simply convert the format of a song. This software typically allows for heavier manipulation of songs such as changing the length of a song, layering tracks, adding filters, and much more. Some examples are GarageBand (for Mac computers), Audition, Audacity, and more. Keep in mind; video editing software such as the always popular Final Cut Pro can manipulate audio to a certain extent- a necessity for those invested in video editing.

While exceptional song editing software can be quite expensive, most computers with a Mac OS or Windows OS come with light song editing software in programs like Windows Movie Maker. Similarly, there is countless open source song editing software for the likes of Linux users and for those who want to try something different for free. It is important to note that much song editing software found for free online works only on a trial base, either allowing full use of the service for a set period of time or only giving access to a snippet (typically 30 seconds) of the final product. It is best to try as many types of software as possible and choose according to whichever fits your personal needs.