we struggled for a bit but figured out in the end. but with a round about way I guess. it's our first time for me and team members to work with VR so there's a probably better way than this :). Any help would be appreciated.

here is the new code my college made.

public class MidiFileLoader : MonoBehaviour { public List midiFilePaths = new List(); // Store all MIDI file paths public GameObject buttonPrefab; // Assign a UI Button prefab with a Text component public Transform buttonContainer; // A parent object in the UI where buttons will be placed public string midiListFileName = "midi_list.txt"; // The text file that lists all MIDI files

// UI elements for progress and debugging
public Slider downloadProgressSlider; // Progress bar for file download
public TMP_Text debugText; // TextMeshPro text for debugging and showing progress

void Start()
{
    // Request permission for external storage on Android
    if (Application.platform == RuntimePlatform.Android)
    {
        RequestStoragePermissions();
    }

    // Start loading MIDI file list
    StartCoroutine(LoadMidiFileList());
}

// Coroutine to load the list of MIDI files from StreamingAssets
private IEnumerator LoadMidiFileList()
{
    string midiListPath = Path.Combine(Application.streamingAssetsPath, "MidiFiles", midiListFileName);

    // Use UnityWebRequest to load the list file (for Android and other platforms)
    UnityWebRequest request = UnityWebRequest.Get(midiListPath);

    yield return request.SendWebRequest();

    if (request.result == UnityWebRequest.Result.Success)
    {
        // Parse the file list (assuming each file is on a new line)
        string fileList = request.downloadHandler.text;
        string[] lines = fileList.Split('\n');

        foreach (string line in lines)
        {
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(line.Trim()))
            {
                midiFilePaths.Add(line.Trim());
            }
        }

        // Populate the UI with buttons for each MIDI file
        PopulateMenu();
    }
    else
    {
        Debug.LogError("Failed to load MIDI list: " + request.error);
    }
}

// This method will populate the menu with the MIDI file paths
void PopulateMenu()
{
    for (int i = 0; i < midiFilePaths.Count; i++)
    {
        string path = midiFilePaths[i];

        // Instantiate the button inside the buttonContainer
        GameObject newButton = Instantiate(buttonPrefab, buttonContainer);

        // Set the button text to the MIDI file name
        newButton.GetComponentInChildren<TMP_Text>().text = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(path);

        // Add a listener to the button to load the selected file when clicked
        Button buttonComponent = newButton.GetComponent<Button>();
        string fullPath = Path.Combine(Application.streamingAssetsPath, "MidiFiles", path);
        buttonComponent.onClick.AddListener(() => 
        {
            Debug.Log("Button clicked for: " + fullPath);
            StartCoroutine(LoadAndPlayMidi(fullPath));
        });
    }
}

// Coroutine to load and play a MIDI file
private IEnumerator LoadAndPlayMidi(string filePath)
{
    // Use UnityWebRequest to access the file in StreamingAssets
    UnityWebRequest request = UnityWebRequest.Get(filePath);

    // Reset progress bar and debug text
    downloadProgressSlider.value = 0;
    debugText.text = "Starting download...";

    request.SendWebRequest();

    // Update the progress bar while downloading
    while (!request.isDone)
    {
        downloadProgressSlider.value = request.downloadProgress;
        debugText.text = $"Downloading... {request.downloadProgress * 100}%";

        yield return null; // Wait until the next frame
    }

    if (request.result == UnityWebRequest.Result.Success)
    {
        // Save the downloaded file to persistentDataPath
        string tempFilePath = Path.Combine(Application.persistentDataPath, Path.GetFileName(filePath));

        // Write the downloaded data to a local file
        File.WriteAllBytes(tempFilePath, request.downloadHandler.data);

        // Call MidiReader with the file path of the saved file
        MidiReader.instance.StartReading(tempFilePath);

        // Debug: Notify user that the file is ready
        debugText.text = "Download complete!";
    }
    else
    {
        Debug.LogError("Failed to load MIDI file: " + request.error);
        debugText.text = "Download failed: " + request.error;
    }

    // Reset progress bar after download
    downloadProgressSlider.value = 0;
}

// Request external storage permissions on Android
private void RequestStoragePermissions()
{
    if (!Permission.HasUserAuthorizedPermission(Permission.ExternalStorageRead))
    {
        Permission.RequestUserPermission(Permission.ExternalStorageRead);
    }

    // Optional: Check for write permission if needed
    if (!Permission.HasUserAuthorizedPermission(Permission.ExternalStorageWrite))
    {
        Permission.RequestUserPermission(Permission.ExternalStorageWrite);
    }
}

}