MP3 meta data over http response

Question

This is going to sound like an odd request.

I have a PHP script pulling a mp3 stream from SoundCloud and repeating the stream with the correct headers to allow WinAmp to play the file. But it only shows the local url I have the script running from. Before anyone asks, I am injecting ID3v1 into the file before echoing it. Is there any way to provide WinAmp with the meta data from php?

Answer 1

Just to clarify, you are effectively proxying an MP3 file from SoundCloud, and you want to embed metadata into it?

Winamp will pick up ID3 tags in an HTTP-served MP3 file. However, if you are using ID3v1, those tags don't exist until the very end of the file. If you want the file to be identified without having to download the whole file, you must use ID3v2 which are typically located at the beginning of the file. (I actually recommend using both ID3v1 and ID3v2 for broader player compatibility, but almost everything supports ID3v2, so it is your choice.)

Now, there is another method but if you use this method the metadata won't be saved in the file when downloaded. You can use SHOUTcast-style metadata. Basically, Winamp and other clients (like VLC) send a request header, Icy-MetaData: 1. This tells the server that it supports SHOUTcast-style metadata. In your server response, you would insert metadata every 8KB or so. Basically, you want the reverse of what I have detailed here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/4914538/362536

In the end, simply adding ID3v2 tags will solve your problem in the best way, but I wanted to mention the alternative option in case you needed it for something else.