NextKast is just one of many 3rd-party Automation/Playout software programs that you can use in conjunction with Live365. With NextKast, you can broadcast live to your Live365 station. NextKast offers a free trial, but if you intend to continue using it, you will need to purchase a copy.


Tip: You may have access to 1 or more Live365 stations. See our Dashboard Navigation article to learn more about selecting the station which you want to work with. Once on that Station's Overview page, you can then follow along.


Here are step-by-step instructions of how to configure NextKast to work with Live365

  1. Download a copy of the NextKast software.
  2. Open the Live365 Dashboard (Login Required).
  3. Select Streaming from the left column Station Menu. Locate the LiveDJ area as shown below:
    Please leave this window open as you will need to input this information into the NextKast interface. For accuracy, it is recommended that you Copy (ctrl c) and Paste (ctrl p) this information directly into the required fields.
  4. Open your copy of NextKast and locate the Broadcast Settings button at the top right corner of the NextKast interface, as shown below:
  5. When you click on the Broadcast Settings button, a new window will appear in which you can input your Setup Instructions, exactly as they appear in Live365. Enter the Server Type, Server Path (IP/Host), Username, Source Password, Port, and Mount Point. (Set the Server Type to Icecast2 or the Live365 preset, both will work).Be sure to click the Auto-reconnect checkbox in the encoder window.

    For optimal audio quality and streaming performance, we recommend configuring the AAC or MP3 codec to be close to the bitrate you've selected as output within the Live365 Dashboard.

    To adjust your Live365 station’s preferred output format and bitrate simply navigate to Streaming → Encoding and then ensure your encoder aligns with those specifications. One requirement is that the sample rate must always be set to 44.1 kHz.

    If you are uncertain about what encoding settings to use, please refer to the following blog article for additional information and guidance: Understanding Radio Streaming Formats & Bitrates

    If you want to start broadcasting immediately, click the Enable Encoder checkbox at the top of the window.
  6. Click the Save button at the bottom of the Encoder window.
  7. If you checked the Enable Encoder checkbox at the top of the encoder window, your encoder will be connected and you will be ready to stream as soon as you click the Save button. You will know that NextKast is connected because you will see the red “On Air” button in the top right corner of the NextKast interface.


When you enable the live broadcasting, you will immediately start to broadcast live. You will override any scheduled Events and AutoDJ currently playing in the Live365 Dashboard. The Live365 AutoDJ system may be used as a fallback, in the event your application crashes or goes offline.


Please remember that even when you are broadcasting live, your files must transmit the correct metadata for copyrighted content (Artist - Title). If you are part of the Ad Revenue Share Program , you need to also manually insert our ad trigger files.