Beats Upload & Player

Beats Upload & Player is a WordPress plugin built for producers and beat stores that need a quick way to upload audio, manage artwork, and publish a browsable catalog with a global player.

Highlights

• Front-end infinite scroll grid that groups beats by genre and streams audio through a sticky global player.
• AJAX-powered loader that keeps fetching categories as listeners scroll the page.
• Optional category search bar that jumps straight to the matching section of the catalog.
• Secure upload form shortcode for logged-in users with audio + cover image requirements.
• Beats Manager admin screen with pagination, live search, inline editing, image replace/remove, and one-click delete.
• Metadata stored as JSON alongside uploaded assets inside the WordPress uploads directory—no custom tables required.

Requirements

• WordPress 6.0 or newer.
• PHP 7.4+ with fileinfo enabled (needed for the upload validation helpers).
• An account with manage_options capability to access the Beats Manager dashboard.

Installation

1. Copy the beats-upload-player folder into wp-content/plugins/ or upload the ZIP via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
2. Activate Beats Upload & Player from the WordPress Plugins screen.
3. Visit Beats Manager in the admin menu to start uploading beats or to manage the library.

Shortcodes

• [beats_display_home] – Renders the AJAX catalog container. The plugin auto-loads batches of categories, builds beat cards, and fires a beats-loaded event after each fetch.
• [beats_global_player] – Outputs the glassmorphic global player that listens for card interactions and keeps playback in sync across the catalog.
• [beats_category_search] – Adds a smart search bar that scrolls to matching categories and highlights the section briefly.
• [beats_upload_form] – Shows the front-end upload form. Only logged-in users see the fields; visitors are prompted to log in first. Each upload expects an MP3/WAV/M4A file, a cover image, price (optional, CAD), and genre selection.

Add the catalog + player shortcodes to any page to create a front-end beat store experience:

[beats_category_search]
[beats_global_player]
[beats_display_home]

Admin Beats Manager

• Upload new beats with enforced audio/image validation and optional CAD pricing.
• Browse the library with live search, pagination, inline audio playback, and edit fields.
• Replace or remove cover art without touching the filesystem; uploads are deduplicated when possible.
• Delete beats with a confirmation prompt—unused audio and artwork files are removed automatically.

File Storage & Data Model

• Audio files live in wp-content/uploads/beats/audio/.
• Cover images live in wp-content/uploads/beats/images/.
• Metadata for every beat is stored in wp-content/uploads/beats/beats.json.
• The helper in includes/beats-categories.php defines the default genre list; adjust it if you need bespoke categories.

Development Notes

• Public scripts (beats-loader.js, beats-player.js) communicate via custom DOM events, so you can listen for beats-loaded to trigger custom UI.
• Admin tooling relies on WordPress’ bundled jQuery. Extend the dashboard by hooking into the same AJAX actions (beats_list, beats_update, etc.).
• Remember to back up the uploads directory before deploying to production or migrating between environments.