How to Embed a Playlist on a Website

A playlist is a list of songs that play one after the other. If the songs are in MP3 format, you can upload the MP3 files to your web server, create a playlist file to set the order they will play in, and insert HTML code to embed the playlist on your web page. Visitors can then listen to your playlist when they come to your website.

Things You'll Need

• FTP software, if it's not included in the web editing software
• Web editing software

Instructions

Upload Your MP3 Files

1. Launch your web editing software if it has FTP capabilities, such as in the Dreamweaver application, or launch your FTP software.

2. In the local files list of the web editing or FTP software, select the MP3 files you want to include in your playlist.

3. Click the upload button, or drag the selected files to the remote file list in the FTP or web editing software to place them on your web server.

Create An M3U Playlist File

1. 

   Open the web editing software, if it's not already open, and create a new file for your playlist. Save it with the file extension .M3U. If you are using Dreamweaver, or another web editing application that automatically inserts HTML header code on all new pages, remove that code so the page is completely blank.

2. 

   Enter the filenames of the songs you uploaded in Step 3. Place each name on a new line in the file. Be sure to include the .MP3 extension.

3. Save the M3U file after you've entered the song information.

4. Upload the M3U file to your web server the same way you uploaded the MP3 files in the previous section, and place the M3U in the same directory at the MP3 files.

Add HTML EMBED Tag to Your Web Page

1. Open the web page you want to embed the playlist on in your web editing software, and click your cursor where you want the playlist controls to appear on your web page.

2. 

   View the HTML code for your page if your web editing software normally shows you the page design instead, and enter this HTML code at your cursor position: <EMBED SRC="FILENAME.m3u" WIDTH="300" HEIGHT="45" AUTOSTART="FALSE" TYPE="audio/mpeg"></EMBED>, where FILENAME is the name of the M3U file you uploaded.

3. Save your file changes, then upload your web page to your web server.

4. 

   Use a web browser to view your web page and test the playlist.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to avoid setting a playlist to play automatically when a page loads. This can annoy visitors, especially if the volume on their computers is set high, and they are in a location where playing MP3's might be frowned upon, such as at work. An M3U file can also be created with a generic text editor such as Notepad. If you are familiar with PHP or CGI scripts, there are many free audio management scripts available for download on the Internet at sites such as PHP.Resourceindex.com. Add the attribute loop="true" to your HTML EMBED command if you want the playlist to automatically start back at the beginning when it reaches the end.

• Some recording artists may object to your embedding their song on your website.

References

• Embedding Music Using a Playlist
• Creating a Playlist

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• How to Stream Music or Audio from Your Website
• Audio FAQ
• PHP Audio Management Scripts