[softwarebeware]

MPD works great for non-tech-savvy friends over, you just need to install a web-based client and they can point their smartphone browser to it.

To make it even easier for friends and family, I set up a dynamic DNS with a friendly URL like myjukebox.duckdns.org that points to the 192.168.xxx.xxx address where this is hosted.

Mopidy (https://mopidy.com/) as the MPD server with Iris (https://mopidy.com/ext/iris/) as the client is a good setup for this.

Even the tech-illiterate can get along with it.

[woodruffw]

> MPD works great for non-tech-savvy friends over, you just need to install a web-based client and they can point their smartphone browser to it.

There are different standards for this: my non-technical friends could probably browse to a local website on their smartphones. My parents would forget how to do it each time, and would be annoyed that it doesn't look like Spotify or Apple Music.

As it is, everybody on my network is able to auto-discover the Pi using their phone or computer's native AirPlay/DLNA support and play music using their application of choice (meaning my server, their own MPD server, Spotify, whatever). That kind of flexibility was a necessity for my case.

[softwarebeware]

Doesn't that have the drawback, though, that you aren't able to share the playlist? My biggest complaint about Airplay (and also Bluetooth) is that someone might put their music on but when I want to put "my" music on I can't because they're paired to the given speakers.

The MPD approach is far better because each person's client view is a shared view of a single playlist. People can all add or update that playlist together.