How to show iTunes Songs on “What I’m Listening To” MSN Messenger

Showing iTunes songs on Windows Live Messenger sometimes proves to be much more difficult than just using the default Media Player on MSN.  We wrote a regular step-by-step guide and also some workarounds if it still doesnt display the track name in the main MSN screen.

This feature has been tested with Windows Live Messenger 2011 and iTunes version (10.1) However, it should work for the most recent MSN versions if you actually have the latest iTunes app. There are two basic guides, the first to verify you check all the appropiate boxes and the second some extra tips if the Title – Artist – Album still doesnt show on Messenger when playing the track on iTunes.

How to Display iTunes Songs on “What I’m Listening To” on Windows Live Messenger 2011 and older versions.

1. Sign in to Windows Live Messenger (version 8.5 and up)
2. In MSN , check the box “Show Information about the songs I’m Listening To” (located in tools >> options >> personal)
3. Set iTunes to be the default music player in Control Panel >> Set Default Programs >> Set Program Associations (Windows Vista/7)
4. Open iTunes and start playing a song (preferably one that has a full Title/Artist description)

It should be displaying the iTunes song description in MSN messenger by now, if not do the following;

5. A Windows Media Player process could be running, even if the player is closed. Crtl + Alt + Del to open task manager
6. Go to the processes tab and find these two processes; wmplayer.exe & WMPSideShowGadget.exe (at least one of the two (if you have installed other music apps like Winamp or Spotify, check they don’t have services running as well)
7. Right click on each one of them and choose end process tree, or just select them and click on the button end process.
8. Close both iTunes and Windows Live Messenger and open them again (remember to play the song)

More MSN Messenger Goodness.

In case you have installed MSN Messenger Plus, there are two scripts related to this very same topic, iTunes+ and Now Playing, which can be added if sharing music info is a must for you.