Linux Multimedia Hacks

Browse Streaming Radio Stations

Install streamtuner and browse through a large directory of public streaming radio stations.

A complaint you might often hear among music fans is “there’s nothing good on the radio.” While the truth of that statement is largely a matter of musical taste, it is true that the further your tastes stray from the mainstream, the less likely they will be served by mainstream radio stations. Streaming radio over the Internet is one solution to the problem. Because it’s very easy for someone to set up their own streaming music radio station, there are thousands of such stations available, which means you have a very good chance of finding one or more that appeals to your eclectic tastes. (Find information on making your own radio stream in [Hack #84] ). Now that you know the perfect song for you is out there somewhere, how do you find it without some sort of stream station directory listing? Use streamtuner, a Linux program that lists and organizes various streaming radio stations and makes it easy for you to filter through them to find streams that match your taste.

To install streamtuner, first check with your distribution’s packaging tool and see whether it has already been packaged. If not, visit the official streamtuner page at http://www.nongnu.org/streamtuner and either download one of the unofficial packages for your distribution, or download and compile the source code according to the installation instructions. After it is installed, launch it ...