MusicMaster Blog

By Paul Ziino

We all know that rules are set up in the MusicMaster Rule Tree. But did you know that you can set a unique separation value for specific keywords? This applies to any tested keyword field—Artist Keywords, Title Keywords, Composer Keywords, Album Keywords, and so on.

First, go into the Rule Tree and activate your Keyword Time Separation rule for the appropriate keyword field.

The setting established here is your default or Auto setting. All keywords with their separation values set to Auto will abide by this setting.

Now go to Dataset/Library/Keywords. In the screen that comes up, use the dropdown to select which keyword field you wish to edit. Have that one artist that you need to slow down when compared to all the others in the database? Find that keyword in the list, uncheck the Auto setting and set it for something higher. Have an artist you wish to allow more frequently than the others? Find that keyword, uncheck Auto and set it for something lower.

A lot of stations will use the Auto setting in the rule tree as the general rule, but core artists or current artists will get lower unique values in the Keyword Maintenance editor. Others will use higher unique values to prevent the one-hit wonders from playing more often than desired. And the smart programmer will use a combination of both.

Happy Scheduling!

Ask any casual broadcast observer and they’ll tell you that Donna Halper is the lady with the hats, the music director who gave RUSH a start in America, the speaker featured so often at conventions. Ask a real radio fan, and you’ll meet a true female radio pioneer. Recently, we caught up with this rare broadcasting treasure to ask a few questions.

Name a person and share a story about someone who would be surprised to learn they made an impact on your career.

“Since my late parents always taught me to say, “Thank you,” I’ve tried throughout my life to thank the people who helped or encouraged me during my career. I’ve even thanked some of the people who tried to stop me or expressed negative attitudes about women in broadcasting, because they motivated me to try even harder to succeed.  But there is one person I never got a chance to thank. I know you asked about my career, but this person changed my entire life.  

He was the Cardinal in Boston when I was growing up in the 1950s– Richard Cushing was his name, and it is thanks to Cardinal Cushing that my childhood improved dramatically.  I was a Jewish kid, growing up in a majority-Catholic city in an era when, sad to say, anti-Semitism was still part of the culture.  Cardinal Cushing was years ahead of his time in taking on the anti-Jewish attitudes that were common in the Catholic Church back then, and actively speaking out against them. He even went to Rome to advocate for ecumenism, and he worked with Pope John XXIII during the 2nd Vatican Council to make interfaith cooperation a reality. 

As someone who was bullied by Catholic kids at school, I remain deeply grateful that thanks to Cardinal Cushing and others like him, the Catholic Church became a proponent of religious tolerance, making it possible for me to have many Catholic friends from then on.”

What’s the best advice you share with managers on the move?

Plan your work and work your plan. Yes, that sounds like an old and tired cliché, but there’s a lot of truth to it. In movies, promotions magically fall from the sky, but in real life, getting promoted takes planning and preparation. So, I generally advise that managers envision the position they’d like to ultimately achieve, and then make a plan for how to achieve it. If you are hoping to be promoted within your company, in what areas does that company have some weaknesses and how could your skill-set contribute to making them stronger?  If you have a record of achievement, are you letting the right people know?  

It’s not arrogant to keep your superiors informed when you accomplish something that benefits the company; in fact, it can be useful in making your case that you are ready to move up.  Offer to take on greater responsibility, and show your superiors that you are someone who is capable.  But also be prepared to assess the situation objectively– if after you’ve done all the right things, your company still does not seem eager to promote you, or if there are no openings even after you’ve demonstrated your skills, it may be time to explore your options and look elsewhere.

Tell us about a listener who changed your life.

How about listeners (plural)?  It’s well-known that I’m credited with discovering the rock group Rush (they dedicated two albums to me and I’m in a 2010 documentary about them, plus we’ve been friends for more than 40 years).  But when I received their record (at that time, a homegrown Canadian import on their own label) back in mid-1974, I was just a music director in Cleveland, trying to find good songs for the disc jockeys to play.  I had no idea at the time that Rush would go on to become famous, and when I dropped the needle (remember vinyl albums?) on “Working Man,” I believed the song would resonate with the audience, but I had no way of knowing– we’ve all had the experience of loving a song that went absolutely nowhere on the charts, or hating a song that went to number one. So, when I brought the Rush album down to the DJ on the air and told him to play, “Working Man,” I was hoping the audience would like it.  The phones lit up almost immediately.

Those first listeners who got behind this new and unknown Canadian band helped to start something– they proved that I wasn’t wrong about Rush, and their demand for more Rush music led to the guys coming to Cleveland to perform, getting a U. S. recording contract, and ultimately ending up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  But I owe a lot of it to the listeners who called the station that first night to let us know they loved “Working Man” and thought Rush had potential.

As a female radio pioneer, what advice would you share with male managers looking to assist female employees achieve their professional goals?

I’m in the second wave of female pioneers, but long before me, there was my own cultural hero, Eunice Randall, the first woman announcer in Massachusetts, as well as an engineer and a news reporter, way back in the early 1920s.  In Eunice’s writings, her view seemed to be that if she had the skills needed for the job, she should be given the chance to do it.  She didn’t want special treatment: she just wanted a fair chance to compete, a fair chance to be hired.  

Decades later, I still find that to be sane advice. Don’t treat your female staff differently. They are not fragile flowers; they are broadcasters seeking to improve their skills. So treat them like skilled professionals.  Give them the same encouragement and mentoring you would give anyone who shows potential. Give them the same respect you would want to be given.  

But on the other hand, understand that some of them have received very conflicting and contradictory messages from the culture. Even in 2015, men who know how to express what they want and not back down are praised for being assertive and decisive; but women who manifest the same traits are often criticized for being abrasive or stubborn.  And while being ambitious is praised in men, it is still criticized in women. Be aware that for some women, navigating these cultural expectations is still difficult.  While today there are more women managers to serve as role models, many young women are still unsure about how to develop their own style.  So, help them to develop that style, whether on air, in sales, in management, even in engineering. There are many ways for a woman to be true to herself and still be effective in business. 

And by the way, I hope you are the kind of manager who does not think less of a woman who wants to spend some time with her kids– in fact, I hope you don’t think less of your male staff if they too want to be with the kids sometimes. Too often, I’ve seen male managers who expect everything to be subordinate to work and who are especially contemptuous of women if they need to be at some special event that matters to their child.  Now, I love work as much as anyone, but I think there needs to be a balance.  Expecting everyone to have no life other than your radio station isn’t healthy.  So, let your female employees know you have a family-friendly workplace and you will be doing them a kindness. (But as I said, let your male employees know that too!)

Share something you learned from your parents that has served you well professionally.

As I said earlier, one great lesson my parents taught me was about the importance of saying thank you and expressing appreciation.  I cannot overstate that. We live in a world where too often, the only time we hear from someone, especially a boss, is when something is wrong.  I understand that managers (and consultants!) get frustrated and angry when employees mess up, especially if they mess up repeatedly.  But what about the employees who constantly go above and beyond, and who often aren’t making the big bucks?  

I hope you are the kind of manager who doesn’t just focus on your staff’s mistakes.  I hope you also notice when they do something well, and make the time to praise them for it. And I hope you are the kind of manager who understands that a word of praise at the right time can go a long way.  (And by the way, back to those cultural expectations I spoke of earlier– while there’s a myth that only women need praise, that is utterly untrue.  Trust me–in my nearly 30 years of consulting, the most common complaint I heard from the guys was, “My boss never seems happy with anything I do; no matter how hard I work or how much I accomplish, I never get a kind word.”  So, don’t just assume that because you are paying them, that is thanks enough.  It’s not.  Everyone, both male and female, likes to receive some appreciation.

Give us a tip that will create stronger relationships between sales and programming immediately upon implementation.

I recommend going out for an ice cream. Or cookies.  Or coffee and doughnuts.  In other words, get out of the office at least once a week and grab a bite to eat together.  Far too often, sales folks hang out only with other sales folks, and programming folks only hang out with others in programming. Far too often, the only time the two sides see each other is in staff meetings, where sometimes each side seems to want entirely different things.  In order to learn each other’s language (and yes, there are very real differences in how sales and programming communicate) and understand each other’s perspectives, it can really help to spend some time with each other…even for a few minutes.  

Yes we are all pressed for time, but even if it’s a quick run for coffee & muffins, knowing each other as people is always useful.  And while you’re at it, invite your chief engineer–he (or she) may be busy, but it’s still nice to be invited.  I have found that radio stations where each department actually talks to each other as human beings are far more likely to create collaborative plans, rather than adversarial plans.

Name a song you were surprised wasn’t a big hit.

One of the things I miss about live and local radio is that sometimes a song became really popular in one city but did nothing much nationally.  “I Can’t Find the Time” by Orpheus was huge in Boston, back in 1969, and I was quite surprised to find it only reached #80 nationally.

By Marianne Burkett

MusicMaster has always been innovative in customizable database design. With Version 6, we go a step further allowing the user to designate various keystrokes to call up their most used features. It’s called “KeyMapping” and is very simple to set up. Key Mapping is available in Library Maintenance and in the Schedule editor. You can have up to 10 different mapping options in each section.

Let’s say you’re in either Library Maintenance or in the Schedule Editor and want to call up a Query (search). You can certainly call up a Query using the traditional methods or you can set up Key Mapping for the feature and just use the assigned keystrokes to call up a Query box.

With Musicmaster opened, follow along to set up your first Keymapping option.

While in Library maintenance, go to Library/Key Mapping. There you’ll see the set up box.

Go to the first command “ALT-1” and then click on Select. You’ll see a list of all the features you can key map! Scroll down to Library Query. Click OK. Then click Okay again in the Key Mapping box.

Now try it out! Alt-1 will bring up your Query Box.

In the Schedule editor, the only difference in setting up the Key Mapping is how you access Schedule Key Mapping. When you’re in the editor, go to Schedule/Key Mapping. Set up your options just like you did in Library maintenance!

There are different options in Library and Schedule, so be sure to check out both to take advantage of this new way to customize your data.

Happy mapping ya’ll!

If you have any questions about the software, reach out to your Music Scheduling Consultant!

By Jesus Rodriguez

I bet that at least once you have tuned in to your station and realized you missed an unscheduled position. For example you hear a sweeper into a sweeper or a song segue into a song where there should have been a sweeper.

There’s a way you can check you log to prevent that from happening. This past month I have been amazed at how many “wow” responses I have gotten when I pull up the feature that I am going to introduce to you today.

Typically when I get a call from a client asking about any unscheduled positions that concern them, they always begin to scroll down their log searching for an example. I always ask if I can take control of their machine and I go straight to the Schedule Quick View to see at one glance where the unscheduled positions occurred. This is where the “wow” factor kicks in when I click on the Schedule QuickView tab if they are already in the Schedule Editor.

Another way to access the Schedule QuickView is by going to Dataset, Schedule, and select QuickView. Once you have opened the QuickView you will get the Schedule QuickView box.

In the Schedule QuickView box above you will see the hours of the day on the top row and the calendar days on the left column. The fun stuff is in the actual grid. The squares on the grid represent the specific day on the left and hour on top. The colors represent the following:

White = Unscheduled Hour
Yellow = Includes a number for the amount of Unscheduled Elements for that hour.
Green = Fully scheduled with no unscheduled elements.

Just when I thought I wowed the user they get even more impressed with the fact that you can simply double click on any square in the grid to go to that specific hour of that day. Even if you were in a different log when you first started using this feature, clicking on the day will take you to that hour. This is great for a quick glance of unscheduled positions and going straight to them to schedule a song. I think the users that enjoy this feature the most are those that schedule days, weeks, and months at a time. Rather than scrolling through logs looking for unscheduled positions day by day, QuickView gives them that information far more efficiently. It’s just another time-saver from your friends at MusicMaster. What you do with all that saved time is up to you!

By Dave Tyler

Customization has always been the name of the game with MusicMaster and now Version 6 has a feature that sets the bar even higher. When it comes to our library we each have our opinions on what is important for us to view. When it comes to my Music Categories there are a lot of fields that are important to me and that I need to see and be able to readily enter information into. However, when viewing some of my Non-Music categories, for instance PSAs, there are fewer fields I need to view. With Version 6, we can now have default layouts for Music and Non-Music categories without having to switch the view manually every time you go into that category. This feature is a great example of MusicMaster listening to your needs and implementing them into a wonderful feature.

I already have my default view for my library set with the fields I need to see when working with my music but I don’t need to see things like “Artist Keyword” or “Gender” when working in my PSAs. In my example below I am creating a new layout for my PSAs which will also be my layout for my imaging and all Non-Music categories. Using the Show/Hide Fields icon I have selected (by adding/removing) the fields I want to view when in my Non-Music categories.

Once this step is complete you would select OK then click the Save Library Grid Layout icon. You will now have the choice to name this layout. Check the box for Save as a New Design then name the layout here. In my example I am calling it simply PSA. Click Save and you are done here.

In the example below you can see the differences between my Music and My Non-Music layouts.

Now we need to set these as the defaults by going to Tools/Options/Library Layout Defaults. Here is where you set not only your Music and Non-Music layout defaults but at the top you can choose which view (Layout) you will use when looking at your Entire Library (Music and Non-Music at the same time).

Once you have the defaults set to the layouts of your choice click Apply then OK and you are done. These will be the layouts you will see automatically when you open those categories. If ever you want to change the defaults, it is easy to do and now you know exactly how to do it.

By Jerry Butler

You wouldn’t drive your car without regular oil changes and maintenance. Are you taking that same care for your database? If you lost your data, how long would it take for you to rebuild your database… hours, days, weeks, months? All databases are different, but one thing is true about them all. Regular maintenance insures the health and wellbeing of your data. With these three steps, you can help keep your database running smoothly and be prepared for a catastrophic disaster.

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By Paul Ziino

MusicMaster version 6.0 is full of brand new features. One of those new items is Library Query clock elements.

I want to schedule a special dance party on Saturday night from 7 to midnight. With a Library Query clock element, this is a breeze.

• Create a new clock.
• Use the drop down under Element Type to select Library Query.
  The top half of the window is set up like any other library query in the database. Select the field to be queried in the first box, the operator in the second, and what you’re looking for beneath that. Then click OK to add the query.

• The lower half of the window is where you select which categories you want to query, and the order in which you want them queried. Click Select and check the categories you want. Click OK, then using the pointer drag the categories into the desired order.
• If you want the categories to use rules from a specific category, select that option, otherwise allow MusicMaster to use the rules from the category of each song tested.
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• Click OK, complete the clock, save it and assign it accordingly.
• The next step is to determine where in your pass order you want Library Query Elements to schedule. You can adjust this in Dataset/Schedule/Schedule Properties.
• When you start the Automatic Scheduler, make sure to check the Library Query Elements item under Schedule Special Elements to cause those Library Query positions to be automatically scheduled.

There are a number of cool things about this.

• You can use different Library Query elements throughout the clock to query for different things.
• You can organize the categories in the different positions to vary the preference.
• You needn’t turn on any rules in the rule tree to make this work, just using the element makes it happen in the clock!
• If you wish to edit a position scheduled via Library Query, the replacement options will also abide by the query from the clock.

Don’t have version 6.0? Contact your MusicMaster Scheduling Consultant to find out how to get it, or call our home office at (469) 717-0100 to speak with an available sales representative.

By Marianne Burkett

As your database ages, you acquire archived histories. The older the database is in years, the more histories you add, and the larger your database becomes. Like “trimming the fat” from your steak or your belly, MusicMaster has a feature called Purge History/Trim.

You should check these settings today and make sure your database is running at optimum speed.

Go to Dataset/Schedule/Purge History. Allow it to calculate your active history and your archived history. Active history is what you can access via the Schedule editor.

In addition, make sure you are “Automatically” purging histories on the first screen you come to. If you don’t see a check mark in that Automatically Purge box, check that off. This is needed so your database doesn’t become bloated and sluggish.

Now for the “trim”: If your database is five, six or more years old, you may want to consider flushing out some of the archived histories. After all, you probably don’t go back years and years to see what you did in 2007.

Click on the Trim button. You can use the Automatic settings or do this manually. Keep as many years as you’d like, but I recommend two years in the archived histories. Run the Trim. When it is done, close the Purge History utility and head over to Tools on your Toolbar. From there check to be sure you’re the only person in the database. (Tools/User List). If others have the database open, ask them to please exit the software. Once you are alone in the data, run Tools/Purge.

This essentially “flushes” your database, reduces its size and makes it a lean mean fighting machine again.

Be sure to make a new backup under Tools/Backup when you are done.

Happy Scheduling!

If you have any questions or concerns contact your Music Scheduling Consultant.

By Paul Ziino

Have you ever seen your Info Bar spread across your MusicMaster screen like this…

…and can’t figure out how to get it back where you like it? Here’s a quick and easy way to do so.

Right click anywhere in the info bar and check Dockable. Right click in the info bar again and click on Location and set it where you want (most common is Left).

Once you have the info bar where you like, right click within and select Locked, and now you won’t accidentally drag it away from its desired location. You can do the same thing for the F6 History Graph, too. Just right click in a gray portion of the graphic, select Dockable, then set your location and lock it.