MusicMaster Blog

By Dave Tyler

Everyone loves having the latest and greatest. For proof just look at the release of a new cell phone….cool features and abilities. MusicMaster software also regularly updates our software with great features and abilities too. However, I have found there is some confusion with the process of updating. Let’s go over why updating is a good thing and how to do it.

The Why

Updating your software keeps your program working optimally. We update our software for lots of reasons. Perhaps Windows released an update that has lots of systems running a bit wonky. Our folks will update on our end the files that the Windows update has problems with to get things back to good. All stations report to some organization be it ASCAP/BMI or SOCAN or Sound Exchange. MusicMaster has all of the reports for all of these companies globally, and when they change a requirement in their reports they let us know first so we can update it in the software. Then, when you run the required report it will have all of the information they need in it. Sometimes we update our software when we find a way to make it run even more efficiently than it already does. We love making your life easier and the process smoother. Updating your software keeps things running their best!

The How

Updating your software is easy and only takes a minute or two. Before updating I always suggest making a backup of your current data and putting it somewhere safe. To backup your data just go to Tools/Backup and either perform a standard backup which places the backed-up file in the same folder as your database, or you can do a custom backup perhaps to Dropbox or a flash drive.

Once your database is backed up, go to Help/Check for Updates.

At this point MusicMaster will check and see if there are any updates available for you and if so you can begin updating.

Once you begin the process of updating the software, go ahead and close MusicMaster behind the update and allow the process to finish. The entire process should only take a minute or two.

Here is one important thing to keep in mind when updating. If multiple people work in the same database from different workstations, then everyone needs to be on the same “Version” of MusicMaster. Although we recommend everyone be on the exact same version and release, if one person is on version 7.02 and someone else is on 7.06, then those are compatible version/releases because they are both 7.0. However, if someone who needs to work in the data is on 6.0 and you update to 7.0, they will no longer be able to open the data once it becomes 7.0 data. It is just important to communicate with your co-workers so everyone is on the same page and if you have an Engineering or IT department, I am sure they would appreciate you going to them first.

Updating your software is the best way to not only remain the most current but also the best way to have the finest tools for scheduling music literally at your fingertips and the process is simple and fast. As always if you ever have any questions do not hesitate to contact your Music Scheduling Consultant.