MediaPlayer mediaPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(context, R.raw.sound_file_1); mediaPlayer.start(); // no need to call prepare; create() does that for you Uri myUri = ....; // initialize Uri here MediaPlayer mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer(); mediaPlayer.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC); mediaPlayer.setDataSource(getApplicationContext(), myUri); mediaPlayer.prepare(); mediaPlayer.start(); // Playing from a remote URL via HTTP streaming looks like this String url = "http://.........."; // Your URL here MediaPlayer mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer(); mediaPlayer.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC); mediaPlayer.setDataSource(url); mediaPlayer.prepare(); // might take long! (for buffering, etc) // mediaPlayer.prepareAsync() // preparing the media in the background mediaPlayer.start();