diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 409ecb4..0175958 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -272,10 +272,10 @@ Grabs a piece of text from a URL based on a css or xpath selector. Optionally op
 Both the `${OFF}` and `${ON}` buttons allow additional button specific behaviours to be configured. The supported options are:
 
 | Option | Description |
-| `B` | Brightness. Value between `0` and `255`.
-| `H` | Hue. Value between `0` and `65535`.
-| `A` | Alert. Value of either `select` (for a single flash) or `lselect` (for 30s of flashing)
-| `T` | Button Text. Any character string that will be shown as the button's text.
+| `B` | Brightness. Value between `0` and `255`. |
+| `H` | Hue. Value between `0` and `65535`. |
+| `A` | Alert. Value of either `select` (for a single flash) or `lselect` (for 30s of flashing) |
+| `T` | Button Text. Any character string that will be shown as the button's text. |
 
 These can be applied to the Block's `format` string options by appending them with a colon and passing the option with a hyphen:
 
@@ -299,16 +299,18 @@ See the [hue.rb](https://github.com/OkayDave/barr/blob/develop/examples/hue.rb)
 | `format` | string | Configurable format for choosing the buttons and their behaviours. See table below for options | `"${OFF} ${ON}"`| 
 
 | Option | Description | 
+| --- | --- |
 | `${OFF}` | Adds a button to turn the selected light off. Can be configured with custom text | 
-| `${ON}` | Adss a button to turn the selected light on. Several buttons can be added with individual behaviours | 
+| `${ON}` | Adds a button to turn the selected light on. Several buttons can be added with individual behaviours | 
 
 Both the `${OFF}` and `${ON}` buttons allow additional button specific behaviours to be configured. The supported options are:
 
 | Option | Description | 
-| `B` | Brightness. Value between `0` and `255`.
-| `H` | Hue. Value between `0` and `65535`.
-| `A` | Alert. Value of either `select` (for a single flash) or `lselect` (for 30s of flashing)
-| `T` | Button Text. Any character string that will be shown as the button's text.
+| --- | --- |
+| `B` | Brightness. Value between `0` and `255`. |
+| `H` | Hue. Value between `0` and `65535`. |
+| `A` | Alert. Value of either `select` (for a single flash) or `lselect` (for 30s of flashing) |
+| `T` | Button Text. Any character string that will be shown as the button's text. |
 
 These can be applied to the Block's `format` string options by appending them with a colon and passing the option with a hyphen: 
 
@@ -350,6 +352,24 @@ Shows current RAM usage.
 
 There are no `Mem` block specific configurable options.
 
+#### Playerctl
+
+**Requires [Playerctl](https://github.com/acrisci/playerctl)**. Shows configurable information about currently playing track on a variety of players. Option to include control buttons.
+
+`pctl = Barr::Blocks::Playerctl.new player: "spotify", format: "${ARTIST} - ${TITLE} - ${BUTTONS}`
+
+| Option | Value | Description | Default |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| `format` | string | Configurable format for defining how the information is displayed. See table below for options | `"${ARTIST} - ${TRACK}"` | 
+| `player` | string | ID of the media app you want to control. Run `playerctl -l` to see what is available | '' | 
+
+| Format Option | Description |
+| --- | --- |
+| `${ARTIST}` | Artist of currently playing track |
+| `${ALBUM}` | Album of currently playing track |
+| `${TITLE}` | Title of currently playing track |
+| `${BUTTONS}` | Buttons to control playback |
+
 #### Processes
 
 Shows the number of currently active processes on your system.
@@ -359,7 +379,7 @@ Shows the number of currently active processes on your system.
 There are no `Processes` block specific configurable options.
 
 #### Rhythmbox
-
+**DEPRECATED** It's reccommended to use the `Playerctl` block instead of this. It's compatible with Rhythmbox and many other players, including Spotify.
 **Requires Rhythmbox and rhythmbox-client**. Shows currently playing artist and/or track, as well as control buttons. Control buttons use FontAwesome.
 
 `rb = Barr::Blocks::Rhythmbox.new buttons: false`
diff --git a/barr.gemspec b/barr.gemspec
index 2cdb0dd..513cc03 100644
--- a/barr.gemspec
+++ b/barr.gemspec
@@ -42,4 +42,5 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.requirements << "(Optional) Bspwm for Bspwm desktop support"
   spec.requirements << "(Optional) RhythmBox & rhythmbox-client"
   spec.requirements << "(Optional) FontAwesome font"
+  spec.requirements << "(Optional) playerctl"
 end
diff --git a/lib/barr.rb b/lib/barr.rb
index e435300..57342e3 100644
--- a/lib/barr.rb
+++ b/lib/barr.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 require 'barr/blocks/i3'
 require 'barr/blocks/ip'
 require 'barr/blocks/mem'
+require 'barr/blocks/playerctl'
 require 'barr/blocks/processes'
 require 'barr/blocks/rhythmbox'
 require 'barr/blocks/mpd'
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@
 
 require 'barr/controllers/bbc_weather'
 require 'barr/controllers/http_grab'
+require 'barr/controllers/playerctl'
 
 module Barr
 end
diff --git a/lib/barr/blocks/playerctl.rb b/lib/barr/blocks/playerctl.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7a439ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/barr/blocks/playerctl.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+module Barr
+  module Blocks
+    class Playerctl < Block
+      attr_accessor :location
+
+      def initialize opts={}
+        super
+        @format = opts[:format] || "${ARTIST} - ${TITLE}"
+        @player = opts[:player] || false
+        @btns = nil
+      end
+
+      def config
+        opts = {id: @player, player: @player }
+        @controller  = @manager.controller :Playerctl, opts
+      end
+
+      def update!
+        op = @controller.output.merge buttons
+        @output = "#{format_string_from_hash(op)}"
+      end
+
+      def buttons
+        if @btns.nil?
+          @btns = {
+            play_pause: wrap_button("\uf04b", "playerctl #{'-p #{@player} ' if @player}play-pause"),
+            next: wrap_button("\uf051", "playerctl #{'-p #{@player} ' if @player}next"),
+            previous: wrap_button("\uf048", "playerctl #{'-p #{@player} ' if @player}previous"),
+          }
+
+          @btns.merge!(buttons: [
+                        @btns[:previous],
+                        @btns[:play_pause],
+                        @btns[:previous]
+                      ].join(" ")
+                     )
+        end
+
+        @btns
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/barr/controllers/playerctl.rb b/lib/barr/controllers/playerctl.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..629498e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/barr/controllers/playerctl.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+require 'json'
+
+module Barr
+  module Controllers
+    class Playerctl < Controller
+
+      def initialize opts={}
+        super
+        @player = opts[:player] || ""
+      end
+
+      def run!
+        @thread = Thread.new do
+          loop do
+            begin
+              op = {}
+
+              op[:album] = sys_cmd 'album'
+              op[:artist] = sys_cmd 'artist'
+              op[:title] = sys_cmd 'title'
+
+              File.write(filename, op.to_json)
+
+              sleep 5
+            rescue StandardError => e
+              STDERR.puts "thread error!"
+              STDERR.puts e.message
+              STDERR.puts e.backtrace
+            end
+
+          end
+        end
+        @thread.run
+      end
+
+      def sys_cmd key
+        if !@player.empty?
+          `playerctl -p #{@player} metadata #{key}`
+        else
+          `playerctl metadata #{key}`
+        end
+      end
+
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/blocks/playerctl_spec.rb b/spec/blocks/playerctl_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa3656f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/blocks/playerctl_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+require './spec/mocks/playerctl'
+
+RSpec.describe Barr::Blocks::PlayerctlBlockMock do
+
+  describe '#initialize' do
+    it "sets default format" do
+      expect(subject.format).to eq("${ARTIST} - ${TITLE}")
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'config' do
+    it "sets the controller" do
+      subject.config
+      expect(subject.controller).to be_a(Barr::Controllers::PlayerctlControllerMock)
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'update' do
+    it "sets the output correctly" do
+      subject.format = "${ARTIST} - ${ALBUM} - ${NEXT}"
+      subject.config
+      subject.controller.update!
+      subject.update!
+      expect(subject.output).to eq("Slayer - Reign in Blood - %{A:playerctl next:}\uf051%{A}")
+    end
+  end
+
+end
diff --git a/spec/mocks/playerctl.rb b/spec/mocks/playerctl.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..572bb70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/mocks/playerctl.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# coding: utf-8
+require 'barr/block'
+require 'barr/controller'
+require 'barr/blocks/playerctl'
+require 'barr/controllers/playerctl'
+
+module Barr
+  module Controllers
+    class PlayerctlControllerMock < Barr::Controllers::Playerctl
+      def document
+      end
+
+      def run!
+      end
+
+      def update!
+        @output ||= {}
+        @output[:artist] = "Slayer"
+        @output[:title] = "Angel of Death"
+        @output[:album] = "Reign in Blood"
+      end
+
+    end
+  end
+
+
+  module Blocks
+    class PlayerctlBlockMock < Barr::Blocks::Playerctl
+      def config
+        @controller = Barr::Controllers::PlayerctlControllerMock.new {}
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+