Many artists choose to share their music online.
guitar guitarist music musical instrument image by david hughes from Fotolia.com
The Internet has made it possible to share all kinds of content with the world, from written ideas to home movies and recorded music. Many services exist to streamline the process of placing multimedia content on a website. Music is a particularly popular form of media that many artists wish to share online. Usually, music is shared in the form of MP3 tracks, which reduce file size while retaining audio quality. A music player placed on a website will convert these files into streaming music so visitors may listen to your music directly from the page. This obviates the need for them to download the files or install any other software. There are several ways to achieve this functionality on your website.
Step 1
Install a "JW Player" on your site to provide a comprehensive music player system with many features. The JW Player is free for those who use it non-commercially. Businesses may purchase a license if necessary. This software integrates with Flash to provide an interface where visitors can play, pause and navigate your selection of music tracks. All you have to do is upload your MP3 files to any directory on your website, and then visit the JW Player website to customize a music player just for you. The "Setup Wizard" allows you to specify the file locations where the songs are stored and also control the many parameters of the player's visual style, including color and layout. Features such as a mute button, volume control, shuffle mix and auto-repeat are available for the player. The "Setup Wizard" then creates a block of programming code that you insert on any Web page. Immediately, the player is functional and visitors can begin listening to music.
Step 2
Purchase a license for the "Wimpy" player if you seek particularly advanced control over your online music delivery system. Wimpy is a flexible music player platform that incorporates many features that free services do not offer. Those who are security minded will appreciate the Wimpy player's ability to stream music tracks that are not actually uploaded to a public website directory. This makes it possible to stream audio without any chance of the original files being downloaded. Perhaps most impressive is the integration that Wimpy provides PHP and MySQL programmers. It is possible to build your own jukebox-style environment, complete with multiple playlists, artist sorting and other features by combining Wimpy with these languages. Additionally, Wimpy provides a separate software program for creating the music player's graphic design, which makes it possible to create a music player with any visual style you desire.
Step 3
Download the "FlamPlayer" if you want advanced control over your music delivery platform without paying for a license. FlamPlayer integrates with PHP and MySQL programming languages, but is available for free for non-commercial use. The player offers a password-protected control panel where the music tracks are selected for public listening. Individual track properties may be set here as well, including additional information about the song or its musicians. The one disadvantage of FlamPlayer is that it is a development in progress. While the program is available, its one-man program team does not always issue updates in a timely fashion. Nonetheless, the player is an opportunity to employ a database-driven music system without the costs normally associated for this service.
References
Photo Credits
- guitar guitarist music musical instrument image by david hughes from Fotolia.com
