MusicMaster Blog

Welcome to MusicMaster

1380 KSRV The Bull – Ontario, Oregon; Deutsches Musik Fernsehen – Berlin, Germany; Maria Curie-Sklodowska University – Lublin, Poland; Radio Mango – Kochi, India

Genius Days 2013

The MusicMaster Genius Day 2013 in Berlin, Germany, was a big success. 35 MusicMaster users from different countries came to get new ideas about MusicMaster and had the chance to talk to Scott and Joe from A-Ware as well as Kevin and Justus from ON AIR DIGITAL.

It was great having everybody there in Berlin and having a great party after all the learning and knowledge was exchanged. We know we have the best customers in the world and we are all looking forward to having the next MusicMaster Genius Day very soon.

25th Anniversary of On Air and MusicMaster

The 25th Anniversary party was held in March in Berlin, Germany, celebrating the success of On Air and MusicMaster.

Left: Fun at the roulette table.
Right: From left to right, Thomas Roth (ON AIR), Scott Wirt (A-Ware), Joe Knapp (A-Ware), and Rainer Eichhorn (ON AIR).

Mauro Rafarelli Receives the First MusicMaster Lifetime Award

Mauro Rafarelli, Head of Music of RSI , Rete 2 from Lugano, Switzerland, received the first MusicMaster Lifetime award. He was the first user in Europe to schedule classical music with MusicMaster and opened the door for us in the  classical format. We are happy and proud that he has been with us for so long and will continue to support MusicMaster in the future. Thank you again, Mauro!

Right: Mauro Rafarelli (right) accepts his award from A-Ware’s Joe Knapp.

MusicMaster Training Library Update

Our Training Library contains short-form walkthroughs and long-form webinars on all aspects of the program. The walkthroughs are all designed to be very short so you can get the information you need quickly. Most are only a couple of minutes long. The webinars are more in-depth looks at various topics. We’ve added a new webinar that explains the various Hour Rotation rules available in the software. In less than 15 minutes you’ll have an overview of the rules and have a better understanding of how each works. Join Paul Ziino for a tour of all the rules and settings so you can take advantage of your music library.

Industry Event Calendar

There are industry events and conventions every month around the world. We always appreciate meeting our customers and finding out how MusicMaster is working for them. If you’re planning on attending any of these events, let us know. We’d love to meet with you if possible.

• April 8-11: NAB 2013 – Las Vegas, NV
• June 18-21: Broadcast Asia – Singapore

MusicMaster Pro-Team: Ralph Cipolla

Jacobs Media is the nation’s leading rock consultancy firm. Fred Jacobs created the Classic Rock radio format in 1983. Since then, Jacobs Media has expanded its services to include Rock, Alternative („The Edge“), and Public Radio.

With a commitment to innovation and customized strategies, the Jacobs Media team of consultants keeps clients aware of new trends, using nationwide online polls, focus groups, and ethnography, going beyond the numbers and observing real people in real life situations. Station services include strategic development; cluster strategy; music management and architecture; production and positioning; personality coaching; promotional, contesting and tactical concepts; and, execution. Jacobs Media’s SmartSuite analytics package helps programmers better understand their stations‘ music design and on-air presentation, as well as tracking the competition.

Contact Ralph Cipolla at 248.353.9030 or ralph@jacobsmedia.com.

The MusicMaster Pro-Team is comprised of experienced broadcast consultants and programmers who are available to assist MusicMaster clients with programming advice. Their services are available under this cost effective program with no long term commitment required, and can be added to your existing software support plan. Information on each MusicMaster Pro-Team member is available below. If you would like to retain the services of one of the MusicMaster Pro-Team members or have questions about the specifics of the program contact Joe Knapp, President/CEO at +1 (262) 786-6519 or JoeKnapp@A-Ware.com.

See the complete MusicMaster Pro-Team Roster.

Quick Tip: Update Your Min Rest Rules Quickly

While your current and recurrent categories may stay the same size, other categories probably fluctuate. That can cause problems with many rules, including Minimum Rest. A setting that is too high will prevent songs from playing; too low and the songs come up too quickly. In the Rule Tree, use the Rule Wizard (magician’s wand) to calculate what the suggested Minimum Rest setting should be. You’ll then be able to implement any of the suggested settings.

Recent Feature Articles From the MusicMaster Blog

MusicMaster “Go To” Guide
By Aaron Taylor

For this article, I thought I’d try to create a reference guide to some other common questions that seem to come up for us on an ongoing basis here at MusicMaster. My hope is that you’ll be able to utilize this as a “Go to Guide” the next time you have one of those “I know you showed me this once” types of questions. (Read more.)

Basic Rotation Rules
By Marianne Burkett

Of all the calls that come my way on a weekly basis, one of the top 5 is “Rotations” and how to improve them. Rotations are a sensitive subject. Program Directors worry about them constantly. Even the slightest changes in your library or clocks can throw your rotations off… so you need to install the correct rules to stop that from happening. (Read more.)

Music Master of the Month

Brad Savage
Brand Manager
Saga
Charlottesville, Virginia

„I’m Brad Savage, Brand Manager for WCNR/Charlottesville, VA (AAA format). I like features like ’swap‘ (F5) to juggle songs within an hour, and also I like the ‚artist history‘ dropdown option to study song history not just by title but by artist as well.

„One feature I use a lot is ‚highlighting‘ songs (F7) so I can clearly see what I consider to be ‚exclusive‘ or ‚lesser familiar‘ songs to our format. If I see too many highlighted songs in an hour or clumped together, I can rethink that music sweep… to maximize music discovery and our format’s exclusive songs/artists but still remain cume-friendly!“

Welcome to MusicMaster

Metro Radio – Hong Kong, China; Abu Dhabi Media – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Interlochen Public Radio – Interlochen, MI; WUCF-FM – Orlando, FL

Above, On Air’s Rainer Eichhorn meets with Michael Vincent of Metro Radio.

5.0 SR-6 is now Available

A new service release is available, 5.0 SR-6. We’ve updated the Schedule Editor to better retain the grid position and bookmarks as you are working in the Editor. If you use Prompted Queries, you’ll notice these are larger and you’ll find edit helper buttons if you use Keyword, Attribute or Date fields. If you use the Broadcast Week option, you’ll now be able to determine if your log export should start with those settings in the Export Designer. Go to Help, Check for Updates to get this version today.

Broadcast Asia 2013

We will be at Broadcast Asia 2013 in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands, June 18-21, for the first time with our own MusicMaster booth. If you’re planning on attending, please come visit us at booth number 4A2-10.

MusicMaster Training Library Update

Our Training Library contains short-form walkthroughs and long-form webinars on all aspects of the program. The walkthroughs are all designed to be very short so you can get the information you need quickly. Most are only a couple of minutes long. The webinars are more in-depth looks at various topics. We’ve added a new webinar that takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a Top-100 countdown. Drew Bennett takes you from creating the list to scheduling it and everything needed in between in less than 15 minutes!

MusicMaster in Broadcast & Production

Readers of Italy’s Broadcast & Production magazine will notice an ad for a familiar product in next month’s issue (right).

„Don’t rely on the past when you can experience the future. MusicMaster 5—the most advanced scheduling tool for radio, TV, web, and in-store.“

Industry Event Calendar

There are industry events and conventions every month around the world. We always appreciate meeting our customers and finding out how MusicMaster is working for them. If you’re planning on attending any of these events, let us know. We’d love to meet with you if possible.

• March 2-5: NRB Convention – Nashville, TN
• March 12-14: CabSat – Dubai, UAE
• March 17-19: Radiodays Europe – Berlin, Germany
• March 18: Genius Days Workshop – Berlin, Germany
• March 19-24: Canadian Music Week – Toronto, ON
• April 8-11: NAB 2013 – Las Vegas, NV
• June 18-21: Broadcast Asia – Singapore

MusicMaster Pro-Team: Alan Burns

Alan Burns & Associates helps radio stations increase ratings by providing custom strategies, music plans, morning show development, marketing/promotion ideas, and the training of your staff. We consult all forms of AC and CHR: from Mainstream, Soft, Modern, Gold AC and Hot AC, to Mainstream and Rhythmic CHR.

Company principals are founder Alan Burns, and Sr. VP Jeff Johnson who has been with AB&A since 1987.

Alan Burns & Associates is a small firm that specializes in precise custom strategies and close, personal attention to our limited client list. Our task is to help each client formulate – then execute – the one strategy that will result in success. We help radio stations increase ratings by providing custom strategies, music plans, morning show development, marketing/promotion ideas, and the training of your staff. We consult all forms of AC and CHR: from Mainstream, Soft, Modern, Gold AC and Hot AC, to Mainstream and Rhythmic CHR.

Alan Burns & Associates is proud to have helped hundreds of AC and CHR stations succeed in even the toughest of market circumstances. The result of our accumulated knowledge, experience, and skills is successful clients. A few of the radio stations we have helped win include great stations like Z100 New York, WBMX Boston, and WSHH Pittsburgh.

Contact Alan Burns at 251-980-7070 or alan@burnsradio.com.

The MusicMaster Pro-Team is comprised of experienced broadcast consultants and programmers who are available to assist MusicMaster clients with programming advice. Their services are available under this cost effective program with no long term commitment required, and can be added to your existing software support plan. Information on each MusicMaster Pro-Team member is available below. If you would like to retain the services of one of the MusicMaster Pro-Team members or have questions about the specifics of the program contact Joe Knapp, President/CEO at +1 (262) 786-6519 or JoeKnapp@A-Ware.com.

See the complete MusicMaster Pro-Team Roster.

Quick Tip: Clock Element Usage

When you click on the pie chart icon in MusicMaster, you’re probably familiar with that visual representation of your clock.  Did you know there are two other tabs available?  You can see your Category Usage and Element Usage as well.  Element Usage will show you the types of clock elements you are using (fixed, special sets, etc) as well as what kind of break elements (lognotes, traffic merge) are in the clock.  Rather than reading down the list of elements in the clock, this is an easy way to review your clocks to be sure it contains the elements you want.

Recent Feature Articles From the MusicMaster Blog

The Format List is Controlled Inconsistency
By Marianne Burkett

So… you want your clocks to be slightly different each hour and you painstakingly create many, many clocks. That is one way to do it. However, in MusicMaster there is a lesser-used feature that I really like that will save you time now and in the future… the Format List! (Read more.)

Copying Music between Databases
By Paul Ziino

If you are responsible for more than one MusicMaster Database, sometimes you might have to add the same song to multiple databases.  Why go through the work of typing all that data over and over when you can just copy and paste between databases? (Read more.)

Music Master of the Month

Miguel Cruz
Programming Director
M80 Rádio
Portugal

„After many years of using different pieces of music programming software, we recently changed to MusicMaster and we are very pleased with the outcome. Just two examples:

• The diversity of available rules and the ability to copy and paste them individually (or whole directories) to different categories is very useful to us, as is the infinitely scalable rules that we can define, with as many different settings and weights as we need.

• The Schedule Editor layout is completely customizable and gives us full access to everything that we really need to program or review the station log.

„In short, MusicMaster is a very user friendly and intuitive program, that has allowed us to have much more control over the scheduling process. Since we have been using it, the quality and the diversity of our programming has significantly improved.“