External track sources

[clehner]

We want to add external track sources that people can search through and pick tracks for streaming or download, so that users can become DJs without needing to have music files locally.

Here are my notes for possible track sources, based on what their APIs provide and require. Please add more info on these sources or other possible sources that we could use.

SoundCloud ✅

Contains content by SoundCloud uploaders/creators.
We can search and stream freely, provided we credit the uploader and Soundcloud with a link and logo. Added in #14, 2016-01-11.

BandCamp ⚠️

Contains content by BandCamp artists/members.
Search and upload freely, with some attribution. The API for search is clunky and would require many HTTP requests.

YouTube ⚠️

Contains everything, but would need to be paired with a music catalog for track searching to try limit the results to music (as Atraci does). We can search and embed, but would need to include a video player of size at least 200x200 pixels.

Spotify ⛔

Would require every user in the room to have a Spotify subscription. Searching the catalog and playing 30s previews is free, so it could be used as a catalog source for searching, if its terms permit that.

Grooveshark ⚠️

Streaming requires a Grooveshark Anywhere subscription, or payment, or ad placement.
It may work to have one user with an Anywhere subscription request the stream and share the stream URL with other users in the room to listen.

Magnatune ⚠️

Contains audio content by artists contracted with Magnatune.
To stream without audio ads, one user with a paid subscription could log in and request a track URL. It looks like sharing the authenticated URL could only be done by sharing the account's username and password. If CORS works, the DJ could XHR the track and stream it to the users with WebRTC like a local file.

Pandora ❓