FAQ

Why is the track on the radio not shown on Track Playing?

It can take a few seconds (up to a minute in some cases) for Track Playing to get the change in artist. If it doesn't update within a minute, try reloading the page. Track Playing relies on external data feeds, so if it doesn't update for a while it could be because these feeds are broken. To check, click on the relevant link below and see what the top artist is:

• http://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/user/bbcradio1/recenttracks.rss
• http://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/user/bbcradio2/recenttracks.rss
• http://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/user/bbc1xtra/recenttracks.rss
• http://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/user/bbc6music/recenttracks.rss

Why is the track on the radio shown on Track Playing before it starts?

Radio stations sometimes prefix a track with a jingle or trailer which gets played out as though it is by the artist. Since the jingle is before the track, Track Playing shows the change before the track actually starts.

I've entered my Last.fm username but it always shows "Indifferent". Is it working?

In order to provide recommendations, Track Playing uses information from Last.fm (loved artists, top artists, your Last.fm recommendations). If you don't use Last.fm very much, there won't be enough information for Track Playing to work with, so you won't see many recommendations. When it does work, the background colour changes (see screenshot).

In summary, use Last.fm more to see recommendations. If you still don't see any recommendations your music taste probably doesn't match the selected radio station!

Why do some tracks show less information than others?

Track Playing relies on Last.fm to provide the MusicBrainz ID needed to access information from BBC Music. When this MusicBrainz ID isn't provided, or is incorrect, the number of links and the "Radio - hear more" information isn't available. Similarly if the BBC uses an artist name different to that used on Last.fm, the artist biography won't be displayed either.

Why are the albums not related to the artist?

Track Playing retrieves albums and singles for an artist by searching Amazon.co.uk. If the artist isn't established, or has a similar name to another artist, the Amazon search results might be different to what is expected. If you have any ideas on how to improve this, let me know at trackplaying [at] cgriley [dot] com

Why does it come up with a page that just says "Reload"?

Track Playing uses Google App Engine to do the processing, which imposes a 5 second limit on requests. This means an error is returned if Track Playing takes longer than 5 seconds to get all the data. Rather than show an error, Track Playing suggests reloading the page since that normally works fine.

Why do I see the message "Note: The information for this radio station hasn't been updated by the BBC for over an hour (but that doesn't mean anything has broken)."?

Sometimes the information Track Playing is based upon isn't updated by the radio station. This can be for any number of reasons; they're not playing any music, they're broadcasting a special programme, or they have actually got a problem. Track Playing can do very little about this, other than notifying them of an issue, so when it detects this has happened it shows a message so that you're aware the information isn't up to date. Generally the radio stations are good at getting things working again (except for BBC Radio2!) so try it again in a few hours and it should be fine.

How do I use Track Playing with Radio Pop?

First, find out about and signup for Radio Pop. Now click on “What is Radio Pop?” on the home page, and in that page click on the link “Authorise Track Playing to work with Radio Pop now »”. You'll now be directed to Radio Pop to authorise Track Playing. If you're not already you'll be asked to log in to Radio Pop. Then tick the box to authorise Track Playing, and click Save Changes. This will bring you back to Track Playing, confirming that you've now completed the authorisation process.

Now that Track Playing is authorised the “Pop” button will be in colour. (Note: if authorisation is lost the “Pop” button turns black and white, and you'll have to reauthorise). Track Playing, in the background, will tell Radio Pop which radio station you're listening to. If you click the “Pop” button, Track Playing will submit that to Radio Pop. To check things are working, close Track Playing, and wait 10 minutes or so. Now load Radio Pop and you should see some listening data!

If you're having problems with the Radio Pop integration, contact me at trackplaying [at] cgriley [dot] com and I'll see what I can do.