How to Listen to WFMU Online

Updated

WFMU streams its live broadcast online in two MP3 formats — 128k and 32k — and also offers a pop-up player, plus separate streams for its side channels Rock'n'Soul Radio, Give the Drummer Radio, and Sheena's Jungle Room. Use the 128k stream if you have a solid connection and want better audio quality; pick 32k if you're on a slow or metered connection. If a stream won't start, the station's Stream Help page is the place to troubleshoot.

Live audio stream options

WFMU's site lists these ways to hear the station live:

Option What it is When to use it
128k MP3 Higher-bitrate live stream Fast, stable connection; best sound
32k MP3 Lower-bitrate live stream Slow, mobile, or bandwidth-limited connections
Pop-up Player A small standalone player window You want the stream to keep playing while you browse other pages

The station describes itself as an independent freeform station broadcasting at 91.1 FM in New York and 90.1 FM in the Hudson Valley, with "gobs and gobs of online offerings" — so the streams are the online equivalent of the over-the-air signal.

Side channels and specialty streams

Beyond the main live stream, WFMU operates separate online channels, each with its own schedule:

  • Rock'n'Soul Radio — schedule listed on the site
  • Give the Drummer Radio — schedule listed on the site
  • Sheena's Jungle Room — schedule listed on the site

Each of these has its own programming page, so if you want a specific genre or show rather than the main feed, start from that channel's schedule.

Listening to past shows

If you missed a broadcast, WFMU keeps archives rather than only a live stream:

  • Most Recent Archives — the latest shows, each with an MP3 and a pop-up link
  • Weekly Program Archives and Special Program Archives — organized by program
  • Playlists — searchable through Search Central, with a playlists feed available
  • Podcasts — for subscribing rather than streaming on demand

Archives are listed with a date and show name; for example, recent entries include Music Only I Care About with Miss Mei, Tony Coulter, Feelings with Michele with One "L", Garbage Time with Matt Warwick, and Wake with Clay Pigeon.

If the stream doesn't work

The site's Stream Help page is the dedicated troubleshooting entry, listed both in the main menu and the full site menu. A practical order to check:

  1. Confirm which stream you're trying — 128k vs. 32k — and switch to 32k if the 128k stream stalls.
  2. Try the pop-up player instead of an embedded player; the site notes "Please enable inline frames!" which suggests some players rely on iframes being allowed in your browser.
  3. Check the Stream Help page for the station's own guidance before assuming the stream is down.

Related pages worth knowing

  • Program Schedule and Program Listings — what's on and when
  • DJ Homepages — per-host pages
  • Contact Us and the E-Mail Directory — for stream problems the help page doesn't cover
  • Donate Now — WFMU is listener-supported; the site notes an annual off-air fund drive called The Hellraiser, conducted mostly by internet and mail each October

The station also lists social and listening apps — BlueSky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and TuneIn — which are alternative ways to follow or tune in when you're not on the website itself.