Error with MP3 upload: Cannot store files with the media type "application/octet-stream"

Omeka S
1

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone else had any trouble uploading an MP3 file as media within an item. It’s only 3.9 MB so I can’t imagine it’s because of the size. I receive this error:

Cannot store files with the media type “application/octet-stream”.

Does anyone know how to resolve this? Thanks!

2

Basically the issue is that we try to detect what kind of file it is and can’t tell it’s an MP3. Particularly if there isn’t an ID3 tag on the file, MP3s can be kind of difficult to detect reliably.

You can add “application/octet-stream” to the allowed file types in the Security section of the Settings page and you’ll be allowed to upload the file. Note that “application/octet-stream” is a kind of “default” or “unknown” file type, so allowing it will cover anything that basically fails to be detected (though the extension must be one you have allowed, too).

3

Thanks! Changing the security section did the trick to allow me to upload the file…although now the follow up question would be, what is the preferred way to get Omeka to play the audio? The file shows there, but it doesn’t play on the website. I’m wondering if folks use a certain plugin to embed a media player or just upload it to a third party host like YouTube and embed it from there…

4

Omeka should show it as a player if you go to the media’s page… if it’s not there could be some issue with the detection getting in the way somehow. What does the filename as stored in Omeka look like? It should have the “.mp3” extension.

5

Ahhhh ok, I see now. I am at the media level and there’s the player. Thanks for your help!

6

I’m having a similar issue. The system is not recognizing some mp3 files and assigning them the application/octet-stream mime type. This is causing an issue with how the item icon is created. For items recognized as mp3, a little speaker icon is applied to the item. For those not recognized, a document icon is applied. I’d like the speaker icon consistently applied to all mp3 items.
Can I modify the mp3 files so they are recognized as mp3 and given the audio/mpeg mimetype?