You generally can’t send a YouTube stream directly from classic BUTT (Broadcast Using This Tool). BUTT is documented for sending live audio from a computer’s microphone or line input to a Shoutcast or Icecast server. To put your internet radio station on YouTube, keep BUTT pointed at your radio server if needed, and use a separate YouTube-compatible encoder such as OBS to capture the station audio and send it to YouTube with the stream URL and key from YouTube Studio.
What BUTT does—and why YouTube needs another encoder
The BUTT manual describes the program as streaming live audio from a computer’s microphone or line input to a Shoutcast or Icecast server. YouTube’s encoder workflow is different: YouTube Studio provides a server URL and stream key, which you enter in an encoder that can send a YouTube live stream. The official instructions reviewed here do not document classic BUTT as a direct YouTube RTMP encoder. BUTT project documentation · YouTube encoder setup
The practical arrangement is two separate outputs: BUTT can continue sending the station feed to its existing radio server, while OBS captures that feed and sends a distinct stream to YouTube. If your station does not need its Shoutcast or Icecast output, you may not need BUTT for the YouTube leg at all; the key requirement is that OBS can receive the station audio.
Prepare your YouTube channel and live stream
- Enable live streaming. YouTube requires a verified channel with live streaming enabled. When enabling a channel’s first live stream, activation may take at least 24 hours; this is a possible delay, not a guaranteed wait time. YouTube: Get started with live streaming
- Create or schedule the broadcast in YouTube Studio. Open the current live control room, create or schedule a stream, and retrieve the server URL and stream key shown for that broadcast. YouTube’s interface can change, so use the current controls displayed in Studio. YouTube encoder setup
- Keep the stream key private. Treat it like a password: do not include a real key in a screenshot, article, public configuration example, or shared setup file. Use the key only in the encoder you control.
Route the radio audio into OBS
Choose the capture method based on where the station’s program audio actually exists. If the audio is already playing through an application on the computer, software capture may be sufficient. If the station feed comes from a physical output, the computer needs an input path that can receive it. The reviewed sources do not establish one universal device or interface for every station setup.
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Capture a device or computer audio
OBS supports audio input and output capture sources on Windows and macOS, and ALSA or PulseAudio sources on Linux. Add the source that corresponds to your actual signal path, then check that its meter moves when the station audio plays. The precise source names and availability depend on operating system and OBS version. OBS audio sources
If you add a device as a scene-specific source, OBS warns against also capturing that same device globally: capturing it twice can produce echo or doubled audio. Choose one capture path for each signal and listen to the result before going live.
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Connect an external line-level source only if needed
If the playout or broadcast system is outside the computer and offers only a physical audio output, you may need a suitable input on the computer or an audio interface. This is conditional, not a universal requirement; first check whether the program audio is already available to OBS through software capture or an existing input.
Build the OBS scene and configure YouTube output
- Create a scene. In OBS, add the audio capture source you selected. Add an image source if you want the stream to show a station logo or other permitted visual while the radio audio plays. OBS documents image sources for scenes. OBS image sources
- Set the broadcast destination. In OBS’s stream settings, select the YouTube service if available, or use the custom server option. Enter the server URL and stream key from the broadcast in YouTube Studio. Do not reuse or publish a key carelessly.
- Check audio and picture in the preview. Confirm the intended image appears, the audio meter responds, and the sound is neither silent nor doubled. A still image is a common way to provide a visual for an audio station, but a still alone does not establish compliance with every YouTube policy or account condition. Check the live preview and stream health in Studio.
- Run a short test before relying on the broadcast. OBS’s quick-start guidance recommends checking output settings and testing. Start with a brief test, listen from the YouTube preview, and verify that Studio reports a healthy incoming stream. OBS quick start guide
Plan upload capacity and monitor the stream
Your internet connection must sustain the outgoing YouTube stream in addition to any other traffic. YouTube advises estimating combined target bitrates, measuring upload speed under realistic conditions, and monitoring stream health. Its example says a combined target of 10 Mbps suggests 15–20 Mbps of upload headroom on a shared connection. That is YouTube’s illustrative guidance for a multi-platform target, not a radio-specific bitrate recommendation or universal minimum. YouTube: Tips for live streaming
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For a single YouTube destination, use the output settings appropriate to the stream you configure in OBS and check Studio’s incoming preview and health indicators. The sources cited here do not prescribe a bitrate, resolution, or keyframe interval specifically for internet radio, so avoid treating a setting from another production as a guaranteed fit. If the connection is unstable, reduce competing network use and reassess the actual upload capacity before increasing encoder output.
When multiple radio servers are involved
BUTT’s developer documents that one BUTT instance does not stream to multiple servers at the same time. The documented workaround is to run multiple BUTT instances, each with a different configuration file and server destination. That method can serve multiple traditional radio servers; it does not add a YouTube-compatible output or replace OBS for the YouTube stream. BUTT: multiple servers
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Troubleshoot common failures
- YouTube shows no incoming stream: confirm live streaming is enabled for the channel, the broadcast is active in Studio, and OBS has the matching current server URL and stream key. If this is the channel’s first live stream, activation may take at least 24 hours.
- OBS connects, but there is no station audio: verify the selected input or output capture source matches where the program audio is playing. Check the OBS meter while audio is present, and confirm the operating system permits the relevant capture source.
- Audio echoes or sounds doubled: check whether the same device is captured both as an OBS global audio device and as a scene-specific source. Remove the duplicate path and listen again.
- The audio is clear locally but the YouTube stream is unstable: measure upload performance under the conditions in which you will broadcast, account for other network traffic, and inspect Studio’s stream health. A shared connection may need additional headroom.
- BUTT reaches the radio server but not YouTube: that is consistent with the documented roles of the programs. Keep BUTT for its Shoutcast or Icecast destination and configure a YouTube-capable encoder separately.
- The stream has a logo but still raises policy concerns: an image source is a technical visual, not proof that the audio or broadcast complies with YouTube rules. Use audio and images you have rights to use and review YouTube’s current policies.
Copyright and station-content checks
Before broadcasting, make sure you have the rights needed to stream each recording, performance, and visual on YouTube. Music being available through your radio station or radio host does not by itself establish permission for a separate YouTube broadcast. A logo or static image does not resolve rights in the audio. Review the relevant permissions and YouTube’s current requirements before scheduling a continuous or repeated broadcast.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is to keep uploaded recordings playing as a 24/7 YouTube stream rather than relay a live audio input, StreamNeo is a cloud option: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. It loops the uploaded videos from the cloud, so nothing has to stay on at home; it streams the uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream, and the first day is free with no card. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. StreamNeo plays uploaded videos, not a live camera or an incoming live station feed. Start the free first day at StreamNeo registration.
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