There are endless possiblities to stream music from your computer to your phone over wifi, but few dedicated howtos that walk you through the process step by step.

Option 1: UPnP

Universal Plug and Play (UpnP) is developed by the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and has interoperateability in mind. See Make Use Of for a list of possibilities.

• Server: Subsonic
  • Install from here http://www.subsonic.org/pages/installation.jsp
    Costs $1/month to use pro features
  • Get started here http://www.subsonic.org/pages/getting-started.jsp

  Client: pick one from http://www.subsonic.org/pages/apps.jsp. VLC also works as a client, see https://askubuntu.com/a/109083/80611
  I use play:Sub, another $5
  I also tried Gerbera

  • Add Gerbera-ppa. If you ar not using ubuntu (but, say, Debian or Bunsenlabs) see astarix for help.
  • Install Gerbera. apt-get said “Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages. Used aptitude instead (see here)
  • Failed.

  Option 2: DAAP

  Easy, cheap, but flawed.

  • Server: Install Rhythmbox → open plugins → enable “DAAP Music Sharing” (obviously install if it is not there) → right click → properties → enter name and tick “Share my music”. Done.
  • Client: Install “Simple DAAP” from app store. Open, find your server, done. I keep getting error -1004 and even though the phone can see the server it does not connect. Since DAAP is a proprietary protocol invented by…Apple, you would expect that there are options. But as there’s no native app that can do it and Simple DAAP is the only lonely player in the field, there aren’t. Except of course you find a broken android phone, install Music Pump (costs) or DAAP media player (free) and in under the minute you’re dancing around the house streaming.

  Hat tip: Lifewire

  Video

  Interestingly it was easier to setup video streaming than audio (use vlcstreamer, see upubuntu).