HTML5 for Audio Applications

Paul Freitas — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:16:42 +0000

HTML5 lets you play music through compliant browsers—no "cloud" required.

Recently, "cloud"-based music services, from big names like Amazon, Google and Apple, have been getting attention in the press. These services allow you to store your music on a corporate server and access it through your own Internet-connected device anytime you like. It's easy to see the appeal of these services. This is the kind of thing the Internet is for, right?

If you're reading this article, you're probably a Linux user, and as often happens, support for Linux is being neglected by these big corporate solutions. For example, Apple's service relies on its proprietary iTunes application, which doesn't exist in Linux. Other products have a Web interface, but uploading works only through a proprietary "app" not available for Linux users. Who wants to use proprietary software anyway? File-type support is limited as well with all the corporate products I've mentioned. Most of my own music is stored in Ogg Vorbis files, and none of the big company services seem to support it, lack of patents notwithstanding. There also are financial costs associated with the corporate offerings (explicit fees comparable to Internet-hosting costs, vendor lock-in and so on) that also are unattractive.

"Cloud" music services have other downsides as well. They are all intended for personal use. What if you want to share music with other people? (I am, of course, talking about legal music sharing involving files with Creative Commons-type free licensing or recorded cover songs with appropriate royalty payments being made to songwriters through licensing agencies like the Harry Fox Agency.) Cloud services can't help you. Also, transfer to the service is one-way. Aside from listening to your music, once you transfer music to the service, you can't download it again easily if something happens to your personal storage. What if you want to use your own storage solution, like your own personal (and appropriately secured) Internet-accessible Web server? What if you live outside the United States, where some cloud services are not yet available?

All these problems make "cloud" solutions more like fog, obscuring the truth that there is another way. Modern HTML5-compliant Web browsers like Chrome, Firefox (Iceweasel to Debian users) and Apple's Safari all support the HTML5 audio element, which can make audio files as easy to handle as image files. Adobe Flash is not necessary. Any Web server can be your own personal "cloud" server that you can use for personal or business use. With some customized HTML and JavaScript, the interface can be anything you want. Let's see how.

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HTML 5

HTML5 for Audio Applications