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please bear with me as I'm not a very tech-savvy user (and therefore will probably unintentionally butcher the terminology and forum format), and I'm not sure if this is the place to inquire, but...

I'm making an audio installation that involves a series of 5 sound tracks to be listened to at 5 separate (outdoor) locations. these tracks will need to somehow be downloaded on to the audiences' own devices (smartphone w/ headphones). what I'd like to do is somehow encrypt the tracks so that the listener can ONLY listen to each track in the 'correct' location (which visually correlates with the audio narrative and therefore makes the installation 'work' as an experience). anyone know how I can do this???

thank you in advance for any advice!

Streaming the audio to people’s smartphones is definitely possible. You can try something such as Icecast. http://icecast.org/

I’m not sure about the encryption part, if the ability to listen is tied to the environment. Would it be enough to password protect the streams and give people a clue about what the password is from what’s nearby? To give some kind of exaggerated example, if they were close to a branch of KFC the password could be ‘chicken’ or something? Or you could try something with GPS, where people entered the coordinates as the password.

Those are the best ideas I can think of right now.

Hey James, I just wanted to thank you for your reply - it was actually quite useful in organising some of my thoughts about how to go forward with this piece.

No problem at all, what you’re doing sounds interesting. Let me know what comes of it.

what I'd like to do is somehow encrypt the tracks so that the listener can ONLY listen to each track in the 'correct' location (which visually correlates with the audio narrative and therefore makes the installation 'work' as an experience). anyone know how I can do this???