iTunes: Why do some internet radio streams show up in my main music list and some do not?

Question

I'm setting up a fresh iTunes library, and I'd like to have a playlist with some internet radio stations. However, I'm seeing inconsistent behavior with how these are being handled in iTunes 10. When I add The Current MP3 stream to a playlist, it does not show up in my main music list, however, when I add the BBC Radio 6 it does show up in the music list, not matter how I add it (dragging from the radio list directly, or adding the URL via Advanced > Open Stream).

Why are these streams treated differently? How can I prevent the BBC stream from showing up in the main music list (like The Current stream currently does)?

I'm using iTunes 10.5.2 (11) 64-bit on Lion

The Current MP3 stream url (Added via Advanced > Open Stream): http://minnesota.publicradio.org/tools/play/streams/the_current.pls

BBC Radio 6 stream url (got the URL from the iTunes radio list): http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lc1_6music_p?s=1326827601&e=1326842001&h=81a3810c662b7c85a3d24d7aa24ac120

Answer 1

I tried both streams like you did and at first I received the same results you did. BBC Radio 6 showed up in the music but The Current didn't appear to.

Then, I tried typing "The Current" into the iTunes search box while Music was selected in the sidebar. The result: The Current from Minnesota Public Radio pops up as the first and only search result in the iTunes main menu.

What I believe it that because this radio listing contains a blank album and artist field, iTunes gets a bit confused but ends up placing them "somewhere" amongst your other entries with blank album and/or artists fields. It can appear to be lost there because there doesn't appear to be any particular order those entries are sorted by-default. (I am almost certain you can do something about that if you really wanted.)

IF you are still interested in seeing your music with those streams, I would recommend just creating a smart playlist that excludes them. Try this a the rule to use in the smart playlist (Cmd-Opt-N to bring up its dialog, btw):

"(Kind) (is not) (Internet audio stream)"

Hope this was helpful.

-b

Answer 2

I think I figured it out: if you add a link to a pls file and then leave the entry in the playlist that iTunes creates, the new stream will not show up in the music list. If the stream isn't a pls file or you try to move it, it will show up as a song in the main music list.