Now Playing: A Winamp Plugin

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The Now Playing plugin allows you to easily publishing what you are listening to! The end result is something that could look like this on your web site!

Stone Temple Pilots
Plush

Rating

Winamp allows you to install plugins that can do various tasks for you. The Now Playing plugin monitors the song you are listening to and publishes the data in various ways:

Creates a XML file with information on that song. A file called now_playing.xml is created in your Now Playing plugin directory.
The plugin also offers you the ability to FTP/SFTP that file to a server of your choosing after its updated.
Create a ping with the song information.
Post information on Twitter.
Post information on Facebook.

The idea is that you publish the XML up to your web server and then through some scripting magic, you can display your currently playing song or your recently played tracks. To make your web site more interactive, the plugin also retrieves the following information for you to use:

URL of the album image cover art from Amazon.com (if found).
Link to the Amazon.com product page for the CD (if found).
Link to the Apple iTunes Music Store product page with the song highlighted within iTunes (if found).

Installation Instructions

Run the installer.
Start Winamp.
The configuration screen will come up right away the first time you run Winamp after installing. Fill in whatever information suits you and hit OK when you are done.
Play a song!

Configuration

About: Get version information.

Options: Configure a few basic options for the plugin.

Publish Stop: If you want the plugin to publish a message when you stop playing music. The playlist in the XML will be emptied but it is still cached for the next time you fire up the player.
Clear Playlist: When the player exits, you can choose to keep or clear the playlist memory for the plugin.
Playlist Delay: The playlist will only keep a new entry if it plays for at least the amount of time specified. If you change tracks before the time elapses, the playlist entry for the song you skipped will be overwritten with the next song. So instead of advancing the oldest item off the list, it leaves the items in tact and just overwrites the prior.
Skip Shorter Than: If a track is shorter than this number of seconds, the track will be skipped from all output interfaces (XML, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). This is helpful if you have short sound effects in your playlist that you do not want to publish. If set to 0, the setting is effectively disabled and all tracks will be published.
Skip Kinds: If a track matches this list of kinds, the track will be skipped from all output interfaces (XML, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). This is helpful if you don’t want to publish video, for example. This is a comma separated list of values. The value for each kind should be taken from the XML’s kind tag.
Logging: If you are not getting the results you expect from the plugin, you may want to enable logging. A file called NowPlaying-Log.txt will be generated in the Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\Now Playing directory. If you contact me about an issue, I will be more likely to solve your issue if you send the log file with the event captured at the debug log level.

XML: Configure some options for the XML file that will be generated.

Output File: Specify the location of the file that is created when the song changes. This file will be uploaded to your FTP/SFTP server if configured to do so. You may use date/time formatting codes, such as %Y, in the filename.
Encoding: Select which type of encoding your want for the XML. UTF-8 is the recommended choice.
XSL URL: This URL will be insert into your XML. You may leave the it empty if you do not use that functionality.
Wrap XML tag values with CDATA: Some song properties have odd characters inside of them and you may need to safely encode the XML depending on your parser.
Playlist Length: Enter the total number of songs that you want to publish in the XML file.

Upload: Enter your server information to configure FTP/SFTP. Be sure that you have permission on your server to upload the file.

Protocol: Choose from None, FTP, and SFTP.
Hostname: Your FTP/SFTP server name or IP address.
Username: Your FTP/SFTP login.
Password: Your FTP/SFTP password.
Filename: You may use date/time formatting codes, such as %Y, in the filename.

Ping: The plugin can send an HTTP POST request when the song changes. The request is sent after the upload of the XML file, if configured. Each of the XML tag names for the track are posted as fields.

URL: Enter a URL that will receive the POST request.
Extra Info: Enter a value that will be sent as a HTTP header called X-NowPlaying. You can use this to set a secret value that your script looks for to prevent unauthorized use.

Twitter: The plugin can post a tweet with what you are listening to.

Enabled: Turn the feature on or off.
Rate Limit: Enter the minimum number of minutes between tweets. This is used to comply with Twitter’s rate limiting. Also helps so you don’t annoy the crap out of your followers with a tweet for every track you play.
Message: Enter the text that you want to post for each new song that plays. You can use a combination of the tags listed below the field for the song data. The text will be substituted and should be less than 140 characters (Twitter limit).
Setup: You need to complete the three phase setup to add and authorize the plugin to work with Twitter. 1) Press Authorize to launch a web browser and give Now Playing access. 2) You will get a PIN from Twitter that you enter in the field. 3) Verify the PIN by pressing Verify. 4) You should see your Twitter name appear there with an option to reset if you want to start over or remove the association.

Facebook: The plugin can update your Facebook news feed with what you are listening to.

Enabled: Turn the feature on or off.
Rate Limit: Enter the minimum number of minutes between posts. This is used to comply with Facebook’s rate limiting. Also helps so you don’t annoy the crap out of your friends with a post for every track you play. This is currently locked at 360 because of Facebook’s ban on spammy apps.
Caption: Enter the text that you want to post for each new song that plays. You can use a combination of the tags listed below the field for the song data.
Description: Enter the text that you want for the description of the news feed item for each new song that plays. You can use a combination of the tags listed below the field for the song data.
Setup: You need to complete the two phase setup to add and authorize the plugin to work with Facebook. Press each of the buttons in sequence and follow the instructions. You should see your Facebook name appear there with an option to reset if you want to start over or remove the association when you have completed the steps.

Amazon: The plugin will query Amazon.com for additional information about your song, such as a link and the album image cover.

Enabled: Turn the lookup on or off.
Locale: Choose “us” for Amazon in the US, “ca” for Amazon in Canada, “uk” for Amazon in the United Kingdom, “de” for Amazon in Germany, or “jp” for Amazon in Japan.
Associate ID: Amazon allows you to collect referral fees on items sold when users click-through from your site. Enter your associate IDhere.

Apple: The plugin will query Apple’s iTunes Music Store for additional information about your song, such as a link.

Enabled: Turn the lookup on or off.
Affiliate ID: Want to receive a commission when users click-through and buy songs from your site at the iTunes Music Store? Join theApple iTunes Affiliate program. Once you join, find out what your ID is by using the LinkShare link generator for any song and extract the ID parameter from the URL generated.

License: If and when you purchase a license, you will enter your registration information on the license tab. Enter the e-mail address you used for the PayPal transaction and the license key I sent you after the purchase.

Schema

The XML has the following format for a single song playlist. If you configure the playlist for more than 1 entry, there will be multiple song tags.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<now_playing playing="1" timestamp="2004-05-24T23:12:46-07:00">
   <song timestamp="2004-05-24T23:12:46-07:00">
      <title>Faint</title>
      <artist>Linkin Park</artist>
      <album>Meteora</album>
      <genre>Rock</genre>
      <kind>mp3</kind>
      <track>7</track>
      <year>2003</year>
      <comments>I like it.</comments>
      <time>162</time>
      <bitrate>128</bitrate>
      <playcount>2</playcount>
      <compilation>No</compilation>
      <urlAmazon>http://www.amazon.com/...</url>
      <urlApple>http://phobos.apple.com/...</url>
      <imageSmall>http://images.amazon.com/...jpg</imageSmall>
      <image>http://images.amazon.com/...jpg</image>
      <imageLarge>http://images.amazon.com/...jpg</imageLarge>
      <composer>Brandon Fuller</composer>
      <grouping></grouping>
      <file>c:\faint.mp3</file>
      <urlSource></urlSource>
   </song>
</now_playing>

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I lost my registration key. Can you resend it?
A: You can retrieve it yourself here.
Q: How do I uninstall the plugin?
A: Go to the Windows Control Panel, choose Add/Remove Programs, and then select Now Playing.
Q: How can I get a debug log?
A: Go to the plugin’s configuration screen and select the Options tab. For Logging, select Debug. Reproduce your issue now. A file called NowPlaying-Log.txt will be generated in the Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\Now Playing directory.
Q: How can I get back to the configuration screen?
A: Go to the Winamp Options menu, then choose Preferences. On the left side, choose Plugins/General Purpose. Then look for Now Playing on the right side. Select it then press the “Configure selected plug-in” button below.
Q: Why aren’t my Amazon or Apple links populated in the XML?
A: It is because the Amazon or Apple search engine cannot find the album. These engines can be picky at times.

Q: Can you show me how to parse the XML file on my server?
A: Sure. This sample will work for a single song or multiple songs.

<?php

$file = "now_playing.xml";
$xml_parser = xml_parser_create();

if ( is_file( $file ) )
{
   $fp = fopen( $file, "r" );
   $data = fread( $fp, filesize( $file ) );
   fclose( $fp );
   xml_parse_into_struct( $xml_parser, $data, $vals, $index );
   xml_parser_free( $xml_parser );

   if ( $debug )
   {
      echo "<pre>";
      echo "Index array\n";
      print_r($index);
      echo "\nVals array\n";
      print_r($vals);
      echo "</pre>\n\n";
   }

   if ( $vals[ $index["NOW_PLAYING"][0] ]["attributes"]["PLAYING"] == 1 )
   {
      foreach ( $index["TITLE"] as $i => $j )
      {
         $title = $vals[ $index["TITLE"][$i] ]["value"];

         if ( strlen( $title ) > 0 )
         {
            $artist = $vals[ $index["ARTIST"][$i] ]["value"];
            $album = $vals[ $index["ALBUM"][$i] ]["value"];
            $genre = $vals[ $index["GENRE"][$i] ]["value"];
            $kind = $vals[ $index["KIND"][$i] ]["value"];
            $track = $vals[ $index["TRACK"][$i] ]["value"];
            $year = $vals[$index["YEAR"][$i] ]["value"];
            $comments = $vals[ $index["COMMENTS"][$i] ]["value"];
            $time = $vals[ $index["TIME"][$i] ]["value"];
            $bitrate = $vals[ $index["BITRATE"][$i] ]["value"];
            $playcount = $vals[ $index["PLAYCOUNT"][$i] ]["value"];
            $compilation = $vals[ $index["COMPILATION"][$i] ]["value"];
            $urlamazon = $vals[ $index["URLAMAZON"][$i] ]["value"];
            $urlapple = $vals[ $index["URLAPPLE"][$i] ]["value"];
            $imagesmallurl = $vals[ $index["IMAGESMALL"][$i] ]["value"];
            $imageurl = $vals[ $index["IMAGE"][$i] ]["value"];
            $imagelargeurl = $vals[ $index["IMAGELARGE"][$i] ]["value"];
            $composer = $vals[ $index["COMPOSER"][$i] ]["value"];
            $grouping = $vals[ $index["GROUPING"][$i] ]["value"];
            $urlsource = $vals[ $index["URLSOURCE"][$i] ]["value"];
            $filename = $vals[ $index["FILE"][$i] ]["value"];

            echo "Now Playing is " . $title . " by " . $artist;
         }
      }
   }
   else
   {
      echo "Now Playing is stopped.";
   }
}

?>

Q: I don’t understand all of this PHP stuff but I still want to do all these cool things. Can you help?
A: Ok, I have zipped up the actual code I use on my own web site. You can download it and use it for your site or as a starter. Please don’t mail me to customize it for you. I don’t have time. So to use this: 1) Take the zip file and extract and place the files on your PHP-enabled web server. 2) Put the images into /images on your server. 3) Insert the following code in the web page that you want to display the music.
```
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://yourserver.com/now_playing.php"></script>
```

Purchase

I have done my fair share of free plugins lately. This one took a little more work so I decided to release it as shareware. So download the plugin and test it out. Make sure it does what you want. Once you are happy, order the licensed version for $15. You will receive a registration key via e-mail once I receive your purchase confirmation from PayPal. Oh yeah — be cool and keep your registration to yourself.
Also, if you would, you can put the Now Playing badge on your web site with a link back to this page. The more people that donate, the more I will be asked to develop new and interesting features that you will be able to take advantage of!

Here is the code for your site:

<div>
   <a href="http://brandon.fuller.name/archives/hacks/nowplaying/">
      <img src="http://brandon.fuller.name/images/now_playing.png" alt="Now Playing" />
   </a>
</div>