how to stream audio using php?

[sneakyimp]

I'm interested in setting up a site where I can put MP3 files on my server (outside the web root) and stream them to a flash application. I'm not talking about progressive download here. The basic idea is to let visitors hear a band's music without actually downloading or caching an mp3 or SWF which could be located as a file and saved or ripped.

I have seen this awesome tutorial on streaming an flv and was wondering if anyone can recommend a PHP/AS3 solution which would let me do the same for audio.

[jorgelopez]

You may want to check out Adobe's Flash Media server http://www.adobe.com/products/flashmediaserver/ OR Red5 http://osflash.org/red5. They both provide video and audio streaming through RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol). You can search for web hosting servers that already have Red5 installed. Red5 will be much cheaper than Flash Media Server, since it's open source. The video or audio files don't get cached onto the users system and it allows you to jump at any point in time of the playing content.

[sneakyimp]

Thanks for your response.

FMS is a thousand bucks. red5 is Java. Definitely looking for PHP options here if possible.