Jul 3

Native Live Audio Player Improvements Required

I strongly believe that changes to the native audio player are necessary.I manage two apps for my clients on GoodBarber, and they expect the "Live Audio" player to support custom HTML elements, such as displaying "Now Playing" information and the current track being broadcast. At the moment, this is simply not possible.If I build my own player in HTML, the audio continues to work when the app is minimized or the phone is locked. However, the HTML player stops working when users switch between tabs within the app. This creates a very poor user experience.GoodBarber should provide much greater flexibility and customization options for Live Audio, or at least make it possible through the AI Extension to create a custom player that works natively within the application.My clients have informed me that if this situation does not improve by the autumn, they will expect me to look for another platform provider. This is becoming a critical issue, and I believe it should be treated as a priority.

Pending

Jul 3, 2026

Hi Sebastian, thanks for the detailed feedback. A quick note that may already unblock you: the metadata you describe (the "Now Playing" title, artist name and album artwork) is a core feature of our Live+ extension, not the free Live Audio one. Live+ reads a M3U stream and displays the current track, keeps a history of the last 5 songs, and lets users share or buy the track. Because the player is native, playback also keeps running when users switch between sections in the app and when the phone is locked, which should solve the interruption you hit with your own HTML player. Here is the extension: https://www.goodbarber.com/extensions/live/ Two things would help us understand your exact need: 1. Is your live stream served as a M3U with embedded metadata? Live+ needs that to populate the "Now Playing" info. If the metadata is missing from the stream, the field stays empty. 2. Beyond the title / artist / album artwork that Live+ already shows, what specific custom HTML elements are you trying to add to the player? A concrete example of what you want to display or build would let us tell you whether it is already possible with Live+, or a genuine gap to log. Looking forward to your reply so we can point you the right way.

Jul 3, 2026

Hi, Thank you for your reply and for taking the time to explain the Live+ extension. My stream does not provide metadata, but the main issue is actually not about displaying artist/title information. My clients decide themselves what should be displayed in the app. For example, one broadcaster only allows the artist name to be shown and explicitly forbids publishing song titles. Another broadcaster displays both artist and title. Both clients generate their own .txt file containing whatever information they want to show, and the app simply reads that file through HTML. Sometimes the content is an artist name, sometimes it is the name of the current show, sometimes it is a message such as "CONTEST", and sometimes it is a contest question. In one case, the station frequently displays the name of the current program, for example "CLUB CHART SHOW", instead of any song information. The content is entirely controlled by the broadcaster. I used "Now Playing" only as an example. What I really need is the ability to display custom dynamic content inside the audio player. At the moment, for two clients, I managed to create a workaround using a Podcast Custom Feed combined with a Custom Code widget. It works, but honestly it is not an elegant solution. The podcast templates are quite limited, and the "Classic" template, which was my preferred option, has been discontinued. The reality is that I have been working with GoodBarber for almost two years and have constantly been trying to find ways to solve this limitation. Recently, thanks to the AI Extension, I finally managed to build a beautiful custom player with all the functionality my clients wanted. Unfortunately, because it is HTML-based, playback stops working properly when users move between sections of the app, which creates a poor user experience. What surprises me is that there is currently no way to use a native audio engine while allowing developers to fully customize the player interface. Ideally, I would love to see a native player whose UI can be completely built and customized by the user, potentially with the help of the AI Extension. When the AI Extension was announced, I honestly hoped this would become possible, but unfortunately it is still not. This is why I opened this request. Yesterday I received an ultimatum from my clients, and if I cannot provide a better solution after the summer, I will have to start looking for another platform provider. I am not asking specifically for artist/title metadata. I am asking for a flexible native audio player that allows broadcasters to display any dynamic content they choose while keeping all the benefits of native background playback. Thank you for considering this feedback.

Jul 3, 2026

Thank you for taking the time to detail your request, it's much clearer now. We'll look into all of this.