Server Configuration

If you want your files to work properly on your web server you should add (or verify the presence of) the MIME types below. The larger online companies already have them. If they are not there yet, you should not have any trouble convincing your OSP/ISP to include them. If you can create and edit .htaccess files on your account you can add them yourself with the addtype directive:

AddType audio/x-mpeg .mp3
AddType audio/x-mpegurl .m3u .mp3url
AddType audio/x-pn-realaudio .ram

Streaming Setup

In order to send a .mp3 file to be played in real-time you will need two things:

• First, the datarate of your compressed file must be compatible with the connection speed of your audience - that means no CD-quality stereo over an analog modem in realtime.
• Second, there must be a way to let the player know where the file is. .m3u and .ram files were created for this purpose. They are text files that contain the URL of one or more files.

To increase useability you may wish to provide low and high datarate versions of a file, and offer the ability to download it for offline use.
Now, to make an .m3u, create a text file in any (preferably simple) text editor - like the ubiquitous Windows notepad (the universal tool for HTML editing, small Java™ programs, batch files, Perl scripts and now m3u's). In this file put a URL such as:

http://www.domain.com/~username/mp3files/mymp3file.mp3

(note this is not a working URL) and save it as mymp3file.m3u ... that's it, you now can stream the file over a network. You may want a carriage return (push enter) at the end of the line or it may screwup WinAMP. You can also put more than one URL in the file (then it would be a playlist!). This must be an absolute reference, as the player will not necessarily know the origin of the .m3u file to locate relative references.
RealAudio files can be done the same way just use a .ra file and name your text file .ram - this will setup http-based realaudio streaming. If your webserver has a RealAudio server you may want to use pnm:// (progressive networks multicast) instead of http:// in your .ram files - this will instruct RealPlayer to connect to your multicast server and try to save you bandwidth.

Note: though most servers do not map the extension .mp3url to MIME:audio/x-mpegurl, it is the same as .m3u.

The sounds section contains streaming links for every file, though you'll need at least dual-ISDN or IDSL for most of them. You can also check out some sample low datarate files.