A playlist is simply defined as an organized list of songs. In the world of personal computers, radio broadcasting and computers, it comes with several specialized meanings. The term was first heard when radio stations began to devise and publish a number of songs for the Top 40.

Since then, songs that come on a list and are used during a given period are called playlists. A playlist is usually a catalog of songs from where radio stations would pick up what to play while airing.

See also

• Organizing your Music
• Types of Playlists

Playlists has been adopted by different types of media players which aim to organize music on a personal computer. Playlists may be defined and music can be chosen in sequence or in random order.

A particular atmosphere of music can be created through a playlist. Maintaining this atmosphere could be done even without constant interaction. Websites nowadays use playlists to categorize and edit music online. Some allow users to create and annotate playlists. This would allow visitors of the site to read reviews and information about the song they would listen to.

• .m3u playlist is text-based and each item comes on a new line.
• .pls playlist comes with a program setting file.
• .asx playlist is xml styled and it usually contains more info about the songs which are being stored.
• .smil playlist is a hundred percent xml playlist and its standard is proposed by the WWW Consortium.
• .kpl or Kalliope PlayList is another kind of xml which is developed for speedy loading and music management.
• XSPF and WPL both have xml format. XSPF enables playlist sharing while WPL is used in versions 9 to 11 of MS Windows Media player.