How can I find out what track is playing?

Here's how you can find out what's currently playing on the programme you're listening to.

Listening Live

On the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds website

When you're listening live, scroll down the programme description to find 'Recent tracks.' The currently-playing track will show at the top:

Image of the Recent Tracks information on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds website

If you've navigated away from the programme information, you can find it again easily by clicking on the programme name in the playback bar.

The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds app

The track information will appear on the scrolling programme info on the playback bar at the bottom of the screen.

You can also tap onÌýthe playback bar to see theÌýsong currently playing. It will be displayed underneath the play/pause button.

Two images from the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds app. The first shows the full live programme information in black with the currently-playing track highlighted. The second shows the track highlighted on the playback bar at the bottom of the screen

Recently played tracks are not listed for live programmes on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds app, only the track currently playing.

Listening on-demand

On the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds website

On the programme or episode page, scroll down to find the tracklist. The currently-playing track will show with 'Now playing' above it:

Image of the tracklist from an on demand programme on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds website. The Now Playing track is highlighted

If you've navigated away from the programme information, find it again easily by clicking on the programme name on the playback bar.

On the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds app

Tap on the black playback bar at the bottom of the screen to open the full playback screen. The song currently playing will be displayed underneath the play/pause button.

You can also see the current track on the scrolling programme information on the black playback bar, and if you're looking at the programme information, you'll see orange sound waves next to the song that's playing.

Two images from the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds app. The first shows the full programme information with the current track highlighted. The second shows the tracklist on the episode information page with the current track highlighted both in the tracklist and on the playback bar at the bottom

Why isn't Now Playing available?

Now Playing will only show on a live stream if you're listening to a radio station at the exact live point.ÌýIf you've paused the live stream at any point or the stream has been interrupted (by a phone call or a drop in signal), you'll be listening slightly behind. To catch up:Ìý

  1. Tap or click 'Pause'
  2. Then tap or click the 'LIVE' button to the rightÌý

Aside from that, there are some other reasons why Now Playing might not be available on either live or on-demand programmes, for example there could be a temporary technical fault. For live programmes,ÌýtheÌýtrack might beÌýtaken from a rare album,ÌýDJ mix, or a live concert;Ìýthere might be changes to the running order;Ìýor a DJ isÌýplaying newly-found tracks. For on-demand programmes, Now Playing may not be available for all content.Ìý

Now Playing is available on the following stations:

Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra and Radio 5 live do not currently have the technical capability to support Now Playing.

Is the Now Playing feature available for live concerts and specialist shows?

These events sometimes struggle to provide Now Playing information in time. The challenge is not just having someone available to add the information, it’s also knowing what the correct information should be. Occasionally there are changes to live events which complicate matters, too.

When we can't provide Now Playing information for the live programme,Ìýwe do our best to provide tracklists and theÌýNow Playing feature once the programme is available on-demand.

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