To show Hindi song titles and artists on a YouTube radio stream, add a text or browser overlay to the video scene in your encoder and feed it with the current track information. The overlay is part of the picture viewers see; it is not the same as the YouTube stream title or description.
For a reliable result, keep the track data accurate, check that your chosen font renders Devanagari properly, and rehearse a track change before broadcasting publicly. The exact connection between a playlist and an overlay depends on your playback and automation setup, so test the complete path rather than assuming it will update by itself.
Choose between a text file and a browser overlay
A text-file overlay is a straightforward starting point. In OBS, a Text source can read its contents from a file. Your workflow, or a person operating the station, changes that file when the playing track changes; OBS then displays the text in the scene. This separates the displayed label from the playlist window and makes the text source easy to inspect when a title is wrong.
A browser source is useful when you want a more designed lower third, such as a coloured band, separate title and artist lines, or a small station mark beside the text. A browser source renders a web layout in the scene. It needs a page or other compatible source that receives the track data, and that connection must be configured for your particular setup. A browser source by itself does not know what is playing.
| Approach | What viewers see | What you need to manage | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text source reading a file | Plain or styled text from a changing file | Keep the file content current and correctly formatted | Simple to inspect, but the update process must be dependable |
| Browser source | A custom web layout with text and other design elements | A compatible page and a working way to supply current track data | More control over appearance, with more setup to test |
OBS documents text sources and browser sources in its Text Sources guide and Browser Source guide. Its text source has configurable font and layout properties, but the documentation does not certify a particular Hindi font or a playlist integration. Test on the computer and operating system you will actually use.
Choose based on who will maintain the station. If you can reliably update one text file, that may be easier to troubleshoot than a custom page. If an existing playlist workflow already sends current track details to a browser-based display, a browser source may fit better. For a broader look at arranging a continuous playlist in OBS, see how to loop a playlist in OBS; looping tracks and showing their names are related jobs, but one does not configure the other automatically.
Prepare the title and artist text
Start with a canonical record for each track: the title and artist spelling you intend viewers to see, taken from the rights holder or distributor where available. Keep the Hindi title in its official Devanagari spelling. If you also want romanised text for viewers who do not read Devanagari, store it as a separate field or line rather than replacing the original spelling with an inconsistent transliteration.
Decide on a format before adding tracks. For example, you might use two lines:
भजन का उदाहरण
गायिका का उदाहरण
Or you might label the fields if that better suits the station's design:
गीत: भजन का उदाहरण
कलाकार: गायिका का उदाहरण
These are examples of layout, not verified song credits. Use the real track information for your own station. Avoid mixing the artist into the title field in some records but not others; consistent fields make both the overlay and any automation easier to maintain.
Check punctuation, spacing, and line breaks in a simple editor before testing OBS. A title that wraps unpredictably may cover more of the picture than intended. If the artist name is long, decide whether to keep it on a second line, shorten the visible layout without altering the underlying credit, or use a smaller but still readable size. Do not assume a title will fit merely because it looks fine in a playlist window.
Hindi scripts can include vowel marks and conjunct letters that need to shape correctly. Pick a font available on the machine running OBS that appears to support Devanagari, then check real examples from your catalogue, including longer names and more complex letter combinations. A font selector in the software is not proof that every system has the same font or renders it identically. The final check is the actual composed video, ideally viewed at the smallest screen size you expect your audience to use.
Keep the display readable rather than trying to include every catalogue field. Viewers generally need a clear title and artist, not a dense block of album, label, and identifier text. If you want to show romanisation as well, test whether three lines still fit without becoming too small. A short, uncluttered label is often easier to read on a phone or television than a complete metadata record.
Connect playlist automation or update the file
There are two broad ways to keep the text current. One is to have a playlist or automation workflow write the current title and artist to the file or page used by the overlay. The other is to update the file manually when the track changes. The first can reduce routine operator work, while the second can be easier to understand and verify for a small station. Neither should be treated as automatic until you have configured and tested that exact workflow.
For an automated path, trace the information from source to screen: where the player stores the current track, how the overlay receives it, which fields are used for title and artist, and how often the display changes. Check that the automation reads the currently playing item rather than the next item in a queue or the playlist's selected item. If the player exposes separate title and artist fields, map them deliberately instead of relying on a combined display string that may vary from track to track.
For a text-file path, decide who or what edits the file and when. If a person changes it, make the update part of the track-change procedure: confirm the next song is playing, replace both fields, save, and check the scene. If a process writes the file, check that the file path is the one OBS is reading and that the output format preserves Hindi characters. A stale label is more misleading than no label, so consider using a neutral station message when the current track is unknown rather than leaving yesterday's song on screen.
Avoid making untested assumptions about playlist software. A player may display track information locally without exposing it to OBS; another may require a script, plugin, export, or separately configured connection. This research does not validate any particular playlist-to-overlay integration. Before choosing a tool, check its current documentation and compatibility with your player and encoder, then rehearse track changes with the actual files and scene you intend to use.
If you are planning the playlist side as well as the label, the continuous bhajan playlist workflow is useful context for keeping a devotional rotation organised. The playlist establishes what plays; the overlay needs a dependable way to receive the same track's title and artist. Treat those as linked but distinct responsibilities.
Add and style the overlay in OBS
In OBS, add a Text source to the scene used for the broadcast. Choose whether to enter text directly or enable the option to read text from a file, then point it to the file your workflow will update. Set the font, size, colour, alignment, and any outline or background treatment available in your version. If using a browser source instead, add the page or layout that will display the current track and configure its dimensions and source address according to that page's documentation.
Give the title and artist enough distinction to scan quickly. A larger title above a smaller artist line can work, but the difference should not make the artist hard to read. High contrast matters more than decoration: pale text on a changing pale background can disappear, while a restrained dark backing strip can preserve legibility over bright footage. Check the overlay over the actual images or animation in the stream, not only against OBS's empty preview canvas.
Consider how the source behaves when a line is unusually long. A fixed-width text box may wrap or clip; a layout that shrinks all text to fit can make some tracks much smaller than others. Test the longest title and artist combination you have, and choose a predictable treatment. It may be better to allow a second line or adjust the overlay width than to let a name run off the edge of the frame.
Use a consistent source name such as “Now playing” and keep it in the scene or nested scene where you expect to maintain it. That makes it easier to find during a late-night correction. If you have separate scenes for different programme blocks, confirm the source is present wherever the radio stream can switch. A correct overlay in one scene does not help if the live channel later cuts to a scene without it.
Position and preview the overlay
Place the label where it does not compete with the main content. A lower-third is a common choice, but the right position depends on your imagery, captions, logos, and any other on-screen information. Leave a margin from the frame edges; text close to the edge can be difficult to see on some displays or may be obscured by playback controls.
Preview with the complete scene at the output resolution and then inspect it at a smaller viewing size. A title that appears large in the OBS interface may be hard to read when the video is reduced on a phone. Check that Devanagari vowel marks and conjuncts remain clear, and that the background treatment does not cover a face, a deity image, lyrics, or other content that the station needs to show.
If the station uses a static image or a slowly changing visual, do not let the overlay become the only changing element unless that is intentional. Some movement in a label is not required for it to be readable; keeping the text in a stable location can help returning viewers recognise the format. Give each label enough time to read, especially if a track is short or the name is unfamiliar.
A preview is also a useful place to check whether the text file is being refreshed as expected. Change the file to a test title, save it, and watch for the visible update. If nothing changes, confirm the source is reading the intended file, then check how the source refreshes in your OBS version. Do not rely on a memory of an earlier test after changing the file path, scene, or automation.
Test track changes before going live
Rehearse more than a single title. Test a short title, a long title, a long artist name, and examples with the Devanagari combinations common in your catalogue. Confirm that each one appears with the intended line breaks, spelling, and contrast. Then run a change from one track to another and observe whether the label updates at the right point in playback.
The transition is a practical source of errors. If your automation changes the label when a new item enters a queue rather than when playback begins, the overlay may announce a track early. If it updates late, viewers may see the previous title over the next song. Listen and watch together during a rehearsal to establish whether your station's update timing is acceptable. This behaviour depends on the player and connection you have configured, so it cannot be guaranteed by adding a text source alone.
Use the YouTube preview or monitor feed, or make a private or unlisted rehearsal, to check the output as viewers will receive it. YouTube's broadcast lifecycle guide describes testing in the broadcast process. A local OBS preview is useful, but it does not confirm that the received stream has the right crop, text clarity, or scene. Check the actual output before switching to a public broadcast.
During rehearsal, also check what appears when the current track is missing from the playlist data, when the file is empty, and after the operator edits a line. Decide on a fallback such as a station name or “Now playing” without a track credit. A fallback is preferable to showing a title you cannot verify. Keep a short written procedure for restoring the overlay if the source disappears or stops updating overnight.
For the broadcast itself, the playback and encoder still need to keep running as planned. If your existing setup depends on a computer staying awake and online, account for that separately from the overlay. A guide to looping prerecorded lessons with VLC or FFmpeg discusses playback approaches, while this article focuses on the visible now-playing label. If the recurring problem is a stalled source rather than track text, address that failure mode directly rather than expecting an overlay change to fix it.
Keep the video overlay separate from YouTube metadata
The overlay is rendered into the video by your encoder or scene. YouTube's broadcast title and description are metadata attached to the stream; changing them does not create a per-track label in the video. The YouTube Live API reference documents broadcast resource fields such as title and description, but it does not describe those fields as a mechanism for placing the current song on screen.
You may still want a useful stream title and description for the channel page and viewers who find the broadcast. Keep those fields about the overall programme, schedule, or station, and let the overlay carry the changing track information. A title such as “Hindi bhajan radio — continuous devotional music” describes the broadcast; it is not a substitute for a label that changes with each song. For broader channel discoverability, use YouTube SEO guidance for titles and descriptions as a separate task from configuring the on-screen scene.
YouTube's “Music in this video” section is another distinct feature. YouTube Help says it is available only to partners using Studio Content Manager, and the section appears in a video's description rather than as a general live on-screen now-playing control. Its presence and accuracy depend on YouTube and rights-holder data, so do not plan your overlay around it. See the official Music in this video help page for its scope.
An on-screen credit is not permission to use a recording. YouTube says live streams are scanned for third-party content, and matched content may interrupt or terminate a broadcast. Its copyright guidance for live streams advises that even licensed streams can be interrupted if a rights holder has not added the channel to the Content ID allowlist. Confirm that your permissions cover the proposed stream and territories with the label or distributor; displaying the artist's name does not resolve rights clearance.
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FAQ
Will YouTube show each Hindi song title automatically?
No. The broadcast title and description are metadata, not a per-track visual label. Add a text or browser overlay to the video scene and connect it to current track data, then test that connection.
Can I use a Hindi title in an OBS text source?
You can enter or read Hindi text, but rendering depends on the font and system used by the broadcaster. Test real Devanagari titles, including vowel marks and conjunct letters, in the composed output rather than assuming a font will behave the same everywhere.
Does a playlist automatically update the overlay?
Not necessarily. The player, automation, and overlay need a configured way to pass the current title and artist fields; a playlist's own display does not prove OBS receives them. Rehearse track changes and check timing before relying on the workflow.
Does showing the artist name clear the music for a live stream?
No. A visible credit is not a licence, and YouTube's live-stream copyright checks are separate from the overlay. Confirm your rights and any required Content ID arrangements with the rights holder or distributor, and consult YouTube's current official guidance.