Metadata is the information your stream broadcasts about what is currently playing — the artist name, song title, and any other details your system sends alongside the audio. It shows up in stream players, website widgets, mobile apps, car radios, smart speakers, and radio aggregators like TuneIn.
A stream without working metadata looks unfinished. Listeners see a blank “Now Playing” display or a stream URL instead of a song title. It is a small detail that creates a noticeably unprofessional impression — and fixing it is straightforward.
This guide is part of the Complete Guide to Building a 24/7 Internet Radio Station with PlayoutONE.
How Metadata Works in PlayoutONE
PlayoutONE uses a four-step chain to deliver Now Playing metadata from the playout engine to your listeners’ players:
- Type Manager — Billboard enabled: Each Type in your library (Music, Imaging, etc.) has a Billboard setting. When Billboard is enabled for a Type, PlayoutONE writes the artist and title to a Billboard file on your PC each time an item of that Type starts playing.
- Billboard file: PlayoutONE writes the current track information to a local text file — the Billboard file — whenever a new item starts. This file is the metadata handoff point between PlayoutONE and the rest of the chain.
- Monitor reads the Billboard: PlayoutONE Monitor watches the Billboard file and makes the current track data available to other applications.
- LiveStream reads from Monitor: In LiveStream’s encoder settings (Settings → Audio & Meta), set the metadata source to From PlayoutONE Monitor. LiveStream then pulls the current track info from Monitor and embeds it in the outgoing stream, where listeners’ players display it.
The metadata travels with the stream. Wherever your stream is heard, the metadata follows — provided the receiving application supports it. Most modern players do.
Step 1: Enable Billboard in Type Manager
Before any metadata leaves PlayoutONE, you must enable Billboard output for each Type that should send Now Playing information. Open Type Manager in PlayoutONE and, for each Type (typically Music and any other Type whose titles you want visible to listeners), find the Billboard setting and enable it.
If Billboard is not enabled for a Type, tracks of that Type will play without sending any metadata — your Now Playing display will either show nothing or stay stuck on the previous song.
You typically want Billboard on for Music Types and off for station imaging sweepers and jingles — that way listeners see song titles, not sweeper names.
Step 2: Configure LiveStream to Read from Monitor
Once Billboard is enabled in Type Manager and PlayoutONE is writing the Billboard file, you need to tell LiveStream where to get its metadata. Open your encoder configuration in LiveStream, go to Settings → Audio & Meta, and set the metadata source to From PlayoutONE Monitor.
With this set, the full chain is live: PlayoutONE writes the Billboard file → Monitor reads it → LiveStream pulls from Monitor → your stream carries the Now Playing data to listeners.
If the metadata source option is not visible, confirm that PlayoutONE Monitor is running. LiveStream reads from Monitor, so Monitor must be active for the connection to work.
Testing Your Metadata
Play a track in PlayoutONE, then verify metadata is appearing in each of the following places:
In your stream player
Open your stream in VLC. In the Media menu, go to Media Information (or press Ctrl+I). Under the Metadata tab, you should see the artist and title of the currently playing track updating as songs change.
In a browser
Some browser-based players display metadata alongside the stream. If you have a website with a player, open it and watch the now-playing display update when a new track starts.
On your streaming server dashboard
Most streaming server control panels (Centova Cast, AzuraCast, or your provider’s dashboard) show the current track metadata. Log in and confirm it matches what is currently playing in PlayoutONE.
Why Accurate Library Metadata Matters
Metadata quality in your stream is only as good as the metadata in your PlayoutONE library. If a track is imported with the artist listed as “Unknown” or the title as “Track 01,” that is exactly what gets broadcast.
Common metadata problems to audit in your library:
- Inconsistent artist names: “The Beatles” vs “Beatles” vs “Beatles, The” — all treated as different artists by the system. Pick one format and use it consistently.
- Missing titles: Filename used as title instead of the actual song name.
- Encoding issues: Special characters (apostrophes, accents, em-dashes) can sometimes corrupt metadata in transit. Test with tracks that have special characters in the title or artist name.
- Album art: Some players display album artwork embedded in the stream metadata. This is an optional enhancement but worth noting if your target platform supports it.
Displaying Now Playing on Your Website
Most streaming providers offer a now-playing API or widget that you can embed on your website. The widget queries the streaming server for the current track information and displays it in real time.
Common implementation options:
- Provider widget: Your streaming host likely offers an embeddable widget — a snippet of HTML/JavaScript you paste into your website. This is the easiest option and requires no additional configuration.
- Third-party widgets: Services like Radio.co, StreamS, and others offer more customisable now-playing widgets that pull from your stream’s metadata API.
- Custom implementation: If you have development resources, you can query your streaming server’s metadata API directly and display the result in whatever format fits your site design.
Future Metadata Integrations
Once your basic metadata is working correctly, you can extend it to additional platforms:
- TuneIn: Listing on TuneIn requires accurate, updating metadata. Their system pulls now-playing data from your stream.
- Alexa and smart speakers: Smart speaker integrations depend on metadata to tell listeners what is playing when they ask.
- Radio aggregators: Services like Radio.garden, Online Radio Box, and similar directories display your now-playing metadata to their users.
- Social media automation: Services like Zapier can trigger automated social posts when a new song starts, using your metadata feed as the trigger.
All of these downstream benefits flow from getting the metadata right at the source. Clean library data and a correctly configured metadata chain is an investment that pays dividends as your station grows.