MusicMaster Blog

by Brian Wheeler

With the ability to manage your data at the Enterprise level comes some interesting and valuable perks. One such perk is the easy management of shared assets across the many stations you manage. Should you decide to require cross-station song rest across multiple stations using the same songs, it’s very easy to enforce in our CS and Web products.

Here is how the rules would look in your CS software. Your available rules appear on the right, with controls for song rest, as well as Keyword time separation available for any keyword fields that are shared.

In this photo, I’ve enacted the Cross-station minimum rest and have made it unbreakable in all categories with a setting of 1 hour and 15 minutes minimum rest across all applicable stations. When you enforce this rule, another screen appears, and you’re able to select the stations that may share these titles that will also adhere to these rules.

This feature is also available in our Web Client. Here you can see that I’ve enabled a Cross-station keyword time separation of 45 minutes.

And below, I’ve been able to set the stations participating in this separation. A couple of clicks and I’m cross-protecting multiple stations at once!

In most cases, you may also wish to consider ignoring individual keyword settings when enacting this rule. By checking the box seen below, the rule adheres to the specific setting you apply for all stations.

In this case, 17 minutes is just enough to provide a cross-station buffer. That way, you’re not handcuffing another station with your stricter individual keyword settings.

This is just one of many exciting new features available to our MusicMaster CS and Web Client customers.

by Chris Hulsether

So, you’re ready to dive into user and role management in MusicMaster CS? Awesome! Whether you’re a radio programming pro or just got roped into “admin duty,” this guide will help you breeze through setting up users and roles like a boss.

Let’s break it down step by step (no tech degree required!).

First Up: USERS

This is where you create and manage the people who will use MusicMaster CS. Think of it as building your team’s backstage pass. But hold up—you can’t assign permissions to users until you’ve created Roles first! So let’s talk about that…

You will get an Add Role box where you will have a drop-down listing the available Roles. You can then determine which Stations the user will have access to. I will have more on how to create Roles in a moment!

What Are ROLES?

Roles are collections of permissions. You can think of them like job titles—“Program Director,” “Music Scheduler,” “Super Admin,” etc. Instead of assigning every little permission one by one to each user (ugh, tedious!), you bundle up what they can do into a role and assign it in one shot. Boom. Efficiency.

Oh—and here’s the cool part: Roles are cumulative. That means if you give a user more than one role, they get the combined permissions of all those roles. Double win!

I have more on Roles in a little bit, now back to adding a new user!

Adding a New User

When you open the user section, you’ll get a screen where you can fill in their basic info (name, email, username, password—you know the drill).

Once you click Add, you’ll be prompted to assign a role. You can pick the station(s) they should have access to, and the role(s) they’ll rock in those stations.

Bonus: You can assign multiple roles to one user! For example, Jeff might be the Programming guru at MMCS-FM and also the Music Director at MMCS-AM.

As you add roles, the Permissions panel will update to show everything the user can do across all their roles. It’s a live, running list of what kind of power they have.

Enterprise vs. Station Roles

There are two types of roles:

• Enterprise – system-wide access
• Station – station-specific access

Each permission shows up color-coded (green, yellow, red) so you know at a glance what they can and can’t do.

Role Options in MusicMaster CS: Who Does What?

So you’ve got users, and now it’s time to assign them some superpowers a.k.a. Roles. In MusicMaster CS, there are two types of roles: Enterprise (big picture stuff) and Station (focused, boots-on-the-ground tasks).

The cool part? Remember, Roles are cumulative—give a user multiple roles, and they get all the permissions combined. Like stacking power-ups.

Here’s a breakdown of what each role can do, divided into two neat lists for your scrolling pleasure:

Enterprise Rights

Station Rights

📌 Pro Tip: If a user is assigned the Super Administrator role, it overrides all other roles—kind of like becoming the DJ Jedi Master.

Need help assigning the right roles?
Your Music Scheduling Consultant is always just a message away. Reach out if you need a hand getting things tuned just right!

Manage Like a Pro

From the Manage Users and Roles screen, you can edit, clone, or delete users and roles. Want to duplicate a user’s setup? Just right-click and clone. Easy setup = more time for coffee.

Same goes for roles—clone one, tweak it slightly, and save under a new name. Super handy when you’ve got similar but not identical responsibilities to assign.

Active Directory? No Problem!

If your team uses Active Directory, you’ll also see an option for “External Account.” You can link their AD profile with the MusicMaster CS account. Quick and painless.

Importing & Exporting Users

Want to add a bunch of users at once? Import a .CSV file with the correct columns and boom, they’re in. You can also export the list to use in another database.

Want to Spy—uh, Check Who’s Logged In?

You can even see which users are currently logged in, when their session started, and what station they’re working on. No judgment, just transparency.

Got Questions?

If you’re unsure about anything or want some help getting your roles set up just right, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Music Scheduling Consultant. They’re awesome and ready to help you fine-tune your setup like a hit playlist.

That’s it! You’re now fully equipped to master Users and Roles in MusicMaster CS. Go forth and assign!

by Brian Wheeler

A fantastic feature of MusicMaster Client-Server is the ability to use category groups to set specific rules for your station’s database. For example, if you decide you want to have a specific set of rules that only your current categories would use, you can achieve this by applying rules in a Current Category folder in your rule tree. This allows you to set rules that only apply to the current categories indicated therein, enabling you to quickly apply rules to a group of categories without having to individualize the rules for each category. You can still create individual rules for individual categories, of course, but if there are broad rule applications you’d like to apply to a specific group of categories, Category Groups streamlines the task.

The first step in the process is to define a category group. To do this, go to Library, Categories, or simply right-click on your Info Bar and select Category Groups. You can now select the categories you wish to include in the category group, name the group, and then save your group. The new group will now appear in your rule tree.

Pictured here is a rule tree with several specific category groups. Note: the category groups entitled Music Categories and Non-Music categories will be pre-built in your database.

Using the category groups already in place, you can apply rules to all of your Music categories and a separate set of rules for all of your Non-Music categories if you so choose. In my photo example, this database can now have another set of rules for Currents and Recurrents, and yet another set of rules for Golds can be enforced as well. Perhaps you want to have more relaxed rules for your holiday music? You can do it with ease by using the Category Groups.

Of course, MusicMaster CS still provides all the capabilities of MusicMaster Pro, with the ability to apply rules to all categories, rules isolated by category, the ability to bypass specific categories, and our world-class Optimum Goal Scheduling features.

As always, should you have any questions regarding this great new feature or any others in MusicMaster Pro or MusicMaster CS, your helpful MusicMaster Scheduling Consultants are a phone call or email away!

by Jerry Butler

Everyone is wearing multiple hats these days, efficiency and precision are paramount. MusicMaster CS offers a powerful feature—Automated Tasks—that can streamline multiple processes, ensuring your station runs smoothly with minimal manual intervention.

Understanding Automated Tasks in MusicMaster CS

Automated Tasks in MusicMaster CS allow users to schedule routine operations to occur automatically at specified intervals. These tasks can be configured to run daily, weekly, monthly, or at custom frequency, providing flexibility to meet your station’s unique needs. Here are just a few of the key tasks that can be automated:

• Automatic Scheduling: Automatically generate music logs based on your predefined rules and criteria.
• Exporting Logs to Automation Systems: Seamlessly transfer scheduled logs to your automation system without manual intervention.
• Database Backups: Ensure your data is regularly backed up to prevent loss.
• Reconciliation: Automatically match scheduled logs with actual airplay to identify discrepancies.
• System Maintenance: Automated tasks can manage system maintenance activities, such as purging old data and rebuilding indexes, keeping the database optimized without manual effort.

Benefits of Using Automated Tasks

1. Time Efficiency: By automating routine tasks, programmers can focus on more strategic activities, such as curating content and analyzing audience engagement.
2. Consistency and Accuracy: Automation reduces the risk of human error, ensuring that tasks like scheduling and data backups are performed consistently and accurately.
3. Reliability During Absences: Automated scheduling ensures that your station remains on-air with fresh content, even during holidays or staff absences. This is particularly beneficial for educational institutions during breaks.
4. Enhanced Productivity: With routine tasks handled automatically, staff can allocate their time to creative and value-added activities, enhancing overall productivity.

Today we will run through setting up an Automated task to Auto Schedule.

Implementing Automated Tasks

Setting up Automated Tasks in MusicMaster CS is straightforward:

1. Navigate to the Automated Tasks: Click on the gear icon and select “Automated Tasks” and “Add New Automated Task.”

1. Select the Task: Choose the specific task you wish to automate. In this case, we are choosing “Start Automatic Scheduler.”

1. Set the Frequency: Determine how often the task should run—daily, weekly, or at a custom interval including hour and minute for a start time.

1. Configure Parameters: Click the “Details” button and specify which station or stations you would like to auto-schedule. Once you select a station and move to the station to schedule window on the right, you can configure exactly what you want to schedule.

1. Select what you want to schedule: Choose all or specific categories, special sets, and library query elements you want to schedule. Select all hours or specific hours. These options are just like your auto-scheduler window in the individual station. Once you have made your selections, click OK.

1. You can see in the picture below that we have selected and configured four stations to auto-schedule in this single automated task. Click OK to return to the opening automated task window.

1. Activate the Task: Click Save here and the automated task is ready to go on the schedule you have set. If you’d like to run the task now, click “Run Task Now”

Many programmers use this automated task to have their stations auto-schedule in the middle of the night. When they come into the station in the morning, the logs are ready for them to edit and fine-tune.

By leveraging Automated Tasks in MusicMaster CS, stations can enhance operational efficiency, maintain consistent programming, and ensure reliable performance, all while freeing up valuable time for creative endeavors.

For automated tasks to operate, your station must have the automated task feature enabled on the server. If you are not sure, discuss it with your IT department or operations manager.

If you have questions or would like help setting up an automated task, reach out to your MusicMaster Scheduling Consultant.