How to Find a Radio Station's Stream URL (and Use It in VLC or an M3U Playlist)

Updated 13 September 2026

Every internet radio station has two addresses: the web page you visit, and the stream URL — the direct address of the audio itself. The web page needs a browser; the stream URL plays in almost anything. With it you can listen in VLC, add a station to a Wi-Fi radio, build a playlist file of your favourite stations, or play radio on a device that has no browser at all.

What a stream URL looks like

A stream URL points at a streaming server rather than a page. Common shapes:

• Icecast and Shoutcast streams — addresses that often end in a mount name such as /stream, /live or /radio.mp3, sometimes with a port number like :8000.
• HLS streams — addresses ending in .m3u8, used by many large broadcasters. Most modern players handle them; some older Wi-Fi radios do not.
• Playlist files — .m3u and .pls files are not audio but small text files that contain the real stream address. Players open them and follow the link inside.

If you open a stream URL in a browser tab and it starts playing with no web page around it, you have the right thing.

Way 1: copy it from 72FM

Every station page on 72FM now has a Stream address panel. Press Copy to put the address on your clipboard, or Download .m3u to save a one-station playlist file that opens in VLC and most other players. The address is the one the public directory holds for that station — 72FM does not proxy or re-encode it.

Way 2: the station's own website

Many stations publish their direct streams on a page called something like Listen, Other players, Streams or Help, often in several qualities — a low bitrate for mobile, a higher one for home. This is the most reliable source, because it comes from the broadcaster.

Way 3: your browser's developer tools

When a station only offers a web player, you can still see the address it plays:

1. Open the station's player page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
2. Open the developer tools (F12, or Cmd+Option+I on a Mac) and choose the Network tab.
3. Press play on the station.
4. Look for a request that keeps growing in size, or filter by Media. Right-click it and copy the URL.

Some broadcasters add a temporary token to the address. Those URLs stop working after a while; if yours does, look for a permanent stream on the station's website instead.

Way 4: public directories

Open directories such as Radio Browser, which 72FM's station listings come from, publish stream addresses for tens of thousands of stations.

Playing a stream URL

VLC on Windows or Linux: Media → Open Network Stream (Ctrl+N), paste the address, press Play.

VLC on a Mac: File → Open Network, paste, press Open.

VLC on a phone or tablet: the app's Network or Stream option takes the same address.

A Wi-Fi radio: radios that accept custom stations take the URL through a web page on your network, an app or the radio's own menu. Wi-Fi internet radios explains why that feature matters.

Kodi, Home Assistant and media servers: most accept a stream URL or an .m3u file as a radio source.

Making your own M3U playlist

An M3U file is plain text. Open any text editor, paste something like this, and save it as my-stations.m3u:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,First Station
https://example.com/stream-one
#EXTINF:-1,Second Station
https://example.com/stream-two

The #EXTINF line holds the name a player shows; the next line is the stream URL. Open the file in VLC and every station appears as a track you can skip between.

The older PLS format does the same job in a different layout:

[playlist]
File1=https://example.com/stream-one
Title1=First Station
NumberOfEntries=1
Version=2

M3U8 is the same idea as M3U with UTF-8 text — and it is also the extension HLS streams use, which is why the name turns up in both places.

Why a stream URL stops working

• The station moved servers. Broadcasters change streaming providers, and old addresses go dark. Check the station's 72FM page or website for the current one.
• The address contained a token that expired (see Way 3).
• The stream is restricted by country. Some broadcasters only stream to their own country, for rights reasons; stations not available in your country covers this.
• The device cannot play the format. Older radios may not support HLS or AAC+; try a plain MP3 stream from the same station if one exists.
• HTTP versus HTTPS. Some devices refuse one or the other. If the station offers both, try the other.

For streams that start but keep cutting out, fixing radio stream buffering goes through the causes.

What a stream URL does not give you

A stream URL is for listening. It does not give anyone the right to rebroadcast the station, put it inside an app, or play it in a shop or venue — those are licensing questions for the broadcaster and the music rights organisations. If you run a station and want a player on your own site, 72FM for broadcasters has an embeddable player. Playing the radio at work explains the licences involved in playing a station to staff or customers.