By Dave Tyler
The Field really should get more respect. It’s the key to all the magic in MusicMaster. The fields you have in MusicMaster allow you to organize the data, filter it and later turn on the rules to make your station sound great. Often a user will want a specific field type but they have already used all of the fields of that particular type in their database already. Let’s say for instance you want a “Sound Code 2” field but you have already used all of the Attribute Multiple fields in your data. Since the dawn of MusicMaster you would need to send your database to me or one of our other Music Scheduling Consultants and we would go “Under the Hood”, add the field for you and then return your data to you. Although not a lengthy process, MusicMaster 7.0 will now allow you to perform that process to happen in mere seconds.
Let’s use my example from above and say you want a new “Sound Code 2” field. This field is usually an “Attribute Multiple” which means if you were a Country station and used codes in this field like P-Patriotic, T-Trucks & S-Sad then Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck” could have all 3 codes on it P,T & S and if you wanted to keep “Sad” songs from playing back to back you could put a Segue Protection rule on it or if you wanted to play a group of “Truck” songs you could filter to achieve that too. So let’s make the field but get ready because this is going to be as fast as driving through a one traffic light town. Click Dataset/Library/Fields:
Now click the “Add Field” button:
And now select the type of field you want to use and name it. I chose “Sound Code 2” Attribute Multiple. You will also notice the “Abbreviation” box. I labeled this “SC 2”.
The abbreviation of SC 2 comes into play when I add this field to my layout. In my examples below you see that when I added the field I get the full name “Sound Code 2” but if I am having a screen real estate issue and want to shorten that field to keep my layout view all on one page without having to scroll, the field automatically becomes the abbreviated “SC 2”.
It is important to note that when you are creating a new field you need to know the “What” and “Why” of it. What are you trying to achieve with it and why are you using it? Do you just need a Text field or a Keyword field or one of the different Attribute field types?
One other important note: You need to be the only one in the data when you add the field. If not, you will receive a warning about this when you try to exit the Field screen.
Most of this can be found in the terrific “Help” section in MusicMaster but if you are not sure then double checking with your Music Scheduling Consultant is always a good idea.
We’ve released MusicMaster 7.0.3 today. This maintenance update contains minor improvements for your user experience. You can get this update by going to Help, Check for Updates. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Music Scheduling Consultant.
By Jesus Rodriguez
I am writing this blog at about the same time as the NFL is kicking off the season. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to plan ahead for every game your station airs? Well the NFL and about every sport from the NBA, NHL, MLB, NCAA, and even down to the high school level all have prescheduled dates that are announced to the public way ahead of the season getting started. Let’s use that information so that we can also plan ahead for our stations scheduling.
By Paul Ziino
The Automatic Scheduler relies on settings in Dataset/Schedule/Schedule Properties to know how far to dig into a category before leaving the position unscheduled. This setting is listed as “depth.” The number here can be a whole number or a percentage. Setting it at 5 means MusicMaster will look at the first five songs in the stack to find a song to play. Setting at 5% tells MusicMaster to look at the first five percent of the items in that category—so if you have 500 songs MusicMaster will look 25 deep to find one to play. If no song in the available search depth works based on the rules set for that position, it is left unscheduled.
In the past, many programmers would use 100% depths to allow MusicMaster to look through every song in the category before giving up. This meant that a lot of songs were being tested even though we know they likely violate Minimum Rest rules. As such, this meant the auto-scheduling process would take longer than necessary. Now in Version 7 we introduce “Virtual Search Depths.” To use the Virtual setting, in the depth column of Schedule Properties, type the letter V or click the edit helper button.
With the virtual setting, MusicMaster calculates and adjusts the Search Depth based on how difficult it is to find a song for each element. This means that MusicMaster may not have to search as deeply for some positions, resulting in a log that schedules much more quickly while still getting the results you expect.
You can also disable a category from being auto-scheduled by using that setting or typing D in the depth column.
Virtual Search Depths is just one of many new features you’ll find in MusicMaster 7!
By Jerry Butler
In a time when many program directors are programming multiple stations, it can be really frustrating to find you have made changes in one database, when intending to make those changes in a different database. MusicMaster gives you the ability to customize multiple settings throughout the software for a different feel and look for each database. Many programmers have cloned databases to create a new station. This works great, but copies everything including your categories and category colors over to the new database, making it difficult to tell them apart. A very easy way to customize each database is by using a station logo or sweeper when you open the database. Here is how you can set up these features.
Click on Tools, Options and Dataset Identification. In the first field, you can change the name that you see on the top left of the screen when you have the database open. This can differ from what the actual database file is called when opening up MusicMaster.
The next field allows you to set up an Audio Logo (Sweeper, Liner, Favorite Movie Drop). Click on the button to the right of the audio logo field to search your computer for an audio file you would like to play when opening the database.
The next field allows you to show a Graphic Logo file. Click on the button to the right of the field to find a file on your computer that you would like to show in the main window of MusicMaster upon launch.
Once the file is selected, you need to click display the graphic logo file check box. You can also adjust the position of the logo with the dropdown selection and choose to have the background as transparent. There are also settings for a background color with or without using a logo.
When you open the database you will now see your logo and hear the audio you selected.
Play with the setting and get the database customized the way you want it. Happy Scheduling from MusicMaster!
By Jesus Rodriguez
Lately, I have received calls from clients ready to launch a new station. Some may be simple tweaks from a current database in-house or inherited from a sister market. Then there are others that are starting a station from scratch using a blank database. What if I told you that there are two ways to get your data ready within 30 seconds?
My first option for you would be to clone your database by going to File and Open Dataset. There you will see your clone button so that you can make an exact copy of your database. It is much easier to delete the items that you don’t need like unnecessary clocks or rules than trying to build an empire from scratch.
Once you have done that there is another way to get your database up to date. It happens to be my second option of how to get a database started within 30 seconds if you are going to start a database from scratch.
I would suggest using our library sync option. This feature allows you to bring in the song metadata into your library from your automation system so you are only doing the data entry once. I would always suggest importing your audio into your automation system first, and hopefully, your files are correctly tagged with the metadata to minimize any adjustments. Once it is in your automation system, I would recommend you locate a file that most systems create that consist of your full inventory list of the items you have in it. You can then use our library sync feature to import that information from your automation system. The best part is that it can bring in all audio music and imaging as well as anything else you may have like voice tracks or promos.
We have the necessary file set up for most major automation systems. We also have blogs on how to create the necessary file to make this import happen. Either way, feel free to contact your MusicMaster support representative for any assistance you may need.
By Paul Ziino
You can really make your Schedule Editor look just about any way you want. You can add and subtract fields via the Modify Editor Layout icon.
Here you can also change the font, size, colors, and grid attributes.
Click the Toggle Toolbars icon and you can turn on the Test Results panel, Instant Analysis, and more.
Once you’ve turned on the Results Bar, right-click on any panel and select Customize to see all the different items available for review.
And with other icons you can toggle the history graph on and off, as well as the Info bar.
With Show/Hide Elements you can hide different elements from view.
You can turn off lognotes, only display the unscheduled items, hide specific categories, display hour and day counters, and more!
Get it all set up just the way you want it, and you have a completely customized workspace!
And with a few clicks and drags you can rearrange the whole thing and some color adjustments, you have a whole new look!!
Customization of your Schedule Editor is just one of the ways you can make your MusicMaster yours! Have any questions? Contact your Music Scheduling Consultant for help.
By Marianne Burkett
Special Sets in MusicMaster are a great way to do things like twofers, matching up artist liners to songs, etc. As we build our clocks with special sets, sometimes we do things in a hurry and forget the important details section. In the example below, you’ll see the special set is matching up Title Keywords with the setting of All(Exact). It is looking at Next Song (Music Only). In the bottom area we’re using rules from the category “Artist Intros” and Bypassing any rules that might keep Title Keywords apart.
A Special Set in this configuration would need an Exact Match in the Title Keyword Field in both the Non-Music Artist liner category and the Music Category that comes after the Special Set in the clock. It will only work with an Exact Match from Field to Field. The liner is looking at the next song scheduled.
The following configuration would work if you didn’t have an artist liner produced yet for a specific song and wanted some kind of Generic liner to schedule automatically. You would put a Generic keyword in the song and liners and add the generic category to the Special Set. Your match configuration could be “1st to Any” or “Any to Any”.
I receive calls on a regular basis when “some” Special Sets are working and “some” are not. It’s all a matter of going directly to the specific clock where the Special Set isn’t working and examining the configuration.
If you are careful setting them up, you shouldn’t have issues. A book could be written on this subject alone, but today’s blog is just a reminder for you to be careful when adding your Special Sets. Pay attention to which direction you are looking in (next or previous, song or music only), what Field are you matching and the type of match (Exact, First, Any or All). When done correctly, Special Sets save you massive amounts of TSE (Time Spent Editing).
As always, if you have any questions, just give us a call. Happy Scheduling.
By Brian Wheeler
You had your rules perfectly set. Your categories were looking good, rotations were purring along, things were going nicely. But in recent days, things aren’t rotating quite like they were. Your well-oiled machine is now running like a misfiring jalopy. What could it be? It might be time to analyze your data.
By Dave Tyler
I am glad you are here and reading our blogs. All of our blogs are written our staff who are long time radio pros, your colleagues, and there are a ton of great ideas here.
As programmers, we all schedule our music and then “massage” it – or check it out to fill any unscheduled positions and just give it a good once over to make sure tomorrow’s music will sound the way it should. Some programmers just schedule and send the log, while others will take an hour or more to look over every transition. I will say this up front, MusicMaster gives you all of the tools you could possibly need to basically schedule, check for any unscheduled positions, and send a great log. If your database is built well from the category level up through your clocks, grids and into well thought-out coding and rules, then there should be very little left to do after hitting “Auto-Schedule”. With all of that said, the prideful Programmer still wants to make sure he/she is sending the best product. I would like to suggest a great way to “Listen” to your log!
Before being able to listen to your log you are going to need to link your song cards to the actual audio. This can be done via Audio File Settings in Tools/Options. One of my compadres here at MusicMaster wrote a terrific blog on how to set up your audio.
Once your Audio Files are setup, then you can open a scheduled log. In my example, I right click on Shannon Lawson, then select Audio, and I get a lot of different options as you can see below:
You may choose to play an entire song or play all remaining songs. One of my favorite tools here is to “Scope All Remaining Songs”. Using my example, if I were to choose this here, it would play the intro of Shannon’s song to the vocal then fade and play the end of the song followed by the TOH ID, and then the intro to Garth and so on. You could literally listen to your entire log in this “Scoped” fashion. There are several options for you to explore, but this is an innovative way to actually hear the flow and vibe of the day you scheduled.
There are so many cool tools for you to use in MusicMaster, so explore and find what works for you and if you need any help, any one of us on the Support team would be eager to help you.
