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October 2017

Welcome to MusicMaster!



New From the MusicMaster Blog

Perfect Power Rotations

by Jesus Rodriguez - Some may call them “Powers” others may refer to them as their “A” category. Call them what you wish but for this blog I want you to think about the most important category you have in your library. One of my frequent calls are concerning the question, “My Powers are not scheduling right I need them to schedule every X minutes the way I have it designed in my clock!” Is this currently happening to you where you have an amazing clock but your Powers aren’t scheduling perfectly and naturally?

Here is a trick that will seem very unorthodox but it works. Get rid of all of your rules in that category! Ok now just take a breather and put your computer screen down before you throw it out the window.

Rules are there to protect items from scheduling too close to other items already in the log. Assuming that your most important category always schedules first there is nothing in the log yet to conflict with where it wants to place itself. If it is not already scheduling first or you need to confirm that it is, go to Dataset, Schedule, and Schedule Properties. Here you can drag the category to the top of the list while pressing down on the blue arrow to left as you move it into position. You can organize your order for all of your categories here too by doing the same, but that’s for another blog.

Read More

How Many Songs Am I Really Playing?

by Dave Tyler - As one of the Music Scheduling Consultants here at MusicMaster I get calls from Programmers from all across North America on a daily basis. Every day is different and so are the questions. I enjoy the challenge of finding solutions for our clients to unique questions.

Recently on of these terrific programmers called and said that because of great numbers in a recent book they are sold out! Great news! He also said because of this their stopsets are full and sometimes even over what they are set for and he knows as a result they are playing less music. His boss wanted to know how many songs are being played each hour given this “Sold Out” situation.

With Turnover Analysis we can easily see the average song count and the actual calls for the category per hour. In the screen shot below you will see that I click on the Turnover Analysis icon (2 blue arrows) and in my example we are looking at the B category (Secondary 70s) in the top part of the graph we can see how many songs are in the category how many times the category is scheduled weekly, how many hours the category is used in, the average plays per hour and a whole lot more information that pertains to the category.

I can also see exactly how many times per hour, specific to the hour, that category is being used by clicking on the small musical note in the bottom half of the screen for “Format Clock Category Usage” then using the dropdown I select my B category and there is a grid with the exact clock calls.

Read More

Quick Tip: Clock Mass Changer

Did you know the Clock Mass Changer works a little differently depending upon how you open it? If you do it from the Clock icon, you can use the Select option first to determine which clocks are affected, then select Changer to run the process on either the selected clocks or all clocks. If you open a clock and then select the mass changer, you will affect either the active clock or all clocks. Either way, the clock mass changer is a fast way to make your changes. Since this has the capability of making many changes, we would recommend you make a backup (Tools, Backup) of your data prior to doing this.

Version 7 "Top Five" Teaser

Looking forward to MusicMaster Version 7? Our beta testing is underway, which means you will be able to get your hands on the software very soon! While you wait, take a look at our Top Five favorite new features in action. There are plenty more to explore. To see a more complete list, Click Here.



MusicMaster Announces New Partnership With CBS Radio

We are happy to announce that CBS Radio has chosen MusicMaster to power programming across their distinguished roster of leading stations in major American markets. If you take a look at the Welcome section at the top of this newsletter, you can view and visit many of these stations. The list will be continued next month, since the number of stations is too big to fit in a single newsletter!

Jeff Sottolano, Vice President of Programming for CBS Radio, commented: “We are excited to partner with MusicMaster and provide our team with their advanced music scheduling software. Their tools will empower our best in class programmers to curate amazing audio experiences for our listeners.”

As of October 1, all on-air CBS Radio stations are being scheduled with MusicMaster. Our team had the pleasure of working with many top-notch programmers during the conversion and training process. Scott Ward of CBS Riverside, shared: "I appreciate the fact that MusicMaster is designed and maintained by [radio] programmers. Your staff speaks our language and understands what we want the program to do." CBS San Diego PD Chris Patyk added, “Change is always hard. Many thanks to the MusicMaster team of Joe, Melanie, and Jesus for delivering white glove service as we transitioned to a new way of music scheduling."

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MusicMaster Founder/President Joe Knapp traveled to California to help train new users, including PD Ralph Stewart and APD Frankie Ross from THE WAVE, Los AngelesAPD Larry Morgan, APD, K-EARTH, Joe Knapp and Greg Simms, MD, K-EARTH Los AngelesJoe Knapp, PD Chris Patyk and APD Mark Blackwell, Energy and KyXy, San Diego

Jimmy D. Gonzalez, VP of Spanish Programming, commented: "There are so many reasons to switch to MusicMaster. First, service is second to none. Technologically speaking, MusicMaster is the smartest music scheduler on the market. MusicMaster is always evolving and in a state of continuous improvement, listening to the radio industry and adapting to our needs. MusicMaster is THE BEST product on the market. The day we started scheduling with MusicMaster, our programming got that much better."

MusicMaster President/Founder Joseph Knapp shared: “The explosive growth of MusicMaster continues with an exciting opportunity to serve CBS Radio, including some of America's finest radio stations. The impressive list of legendary call letters that have joined the MusicMaster family is mind-blowing. The initial positive feedback makes us especially proud as we look forward to many years of helping these stations grow in new ways with MusicMaster.”

Welcome onboard, CBS!

Nov 2: College Genius Day

On November 2 through 4, the CBI will be hosting their annual National Student Electronic Media Convention at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk. The CBI represents students involved in radio, television, webcasting and other related media activities. MusicMaster will be kicking off the learning on November 2nd with a special seven-part Genius Day: Music Scheduling 101. The workshop will be specially hosted by MusicMaster's Founder and President Joe Knapp. Each hour-long class will cover a different area of programming, both introducing students to scheduling concepts and refreshing seasoned users on MusicMaster workflows. Session guests can also attend our catered Mentorship Lunch featuring Marconi winner Roger Allen, programmer of KONO-FM/AM. The session schedule is as follows:

9am - "Music Scheduling 101: Music Scheduling Fundamentals"
A lot of math and creativity goes into scheduling a music log against a twenty four hour day. In hour one of our MusicMaster Genius Day, we'll cover what it means to be an artist or a mathematician in a music log and we'll take a close look at which side is more important or if both sides matter equally.

10am - "Music Scheduling 101: Music Library Curation"
What goes into a music library that rotates? In hour two of our MusicMaster Genius Day, we'll go into depth on curating a music library. How are songs coded and what does that mean to the spirit and the sound of the music log? What attributes of a song should be kept in a music library? What are the best practices for maintaining complete song cards?

11am - "Music Scheduling 101: Proper Turnover and Clock Building"
Turnover and clock building is the foundation for great music logs that expose songs to a listener base in a systematic way. The success of your music log depends on the quality of your turnover. In this hour of our MusicMaster Genius Day, we'll cover clock building, turnover mathematics and working with turnover while you develop your clocks. This could be the most important hour of the day for developing great music logs.

Noon - "Music Scheduling 101: Lunch with Marconi Winner Roger Allen"
What is it like to run a radio station and be responsible for the final product? How much time is spent on music scheduling? What kind of research is involved and how is the final product produced and sent for air? During hour four, you can join us for a catered lunch with a mentor. KONO-FM and Marconi Winner Roger Allen speaks about radio and music scheduling at KONO-FM.

1pm - "Music Scheduling 101: Rules and Controlling a Library"
Once great turnover is achieved, it's time to build the sound of the radio station. How are rules set up against a library to create the spirit and the sound of a music log? How can we scale our rules to consider ideal music mixes and prevent undesirable segues? How are rules dayparted for different times of the day? In hour five of our MusicMaster Genius Day, we'll cover rules and how to control a library to create a great mix of music.

2pm - "Music Scheduling 101: Scheduling Music"
Once our clocks have been built and we have an effective rule tree in place, it's time to check schedule a log, edit music and non-music and view the final product. In hour six of our MusicMaster Genius Day, we'll cover schedule editing, advanced tips for log production, reports, reconciliations and exporting to an automation system.

3pm - "Music Scheduling 101: Zero to Database in One Hour"
Can you really go from nothing to radio station in one hour? Yes, you can! In our final hour of MusicMaster Genius Day, we'll work to build a station from scratch. We'll show you how to build libraries quickly, then move to clocks, rules and logs in no time. At the end of the hour, we'll have a working radio station to stream and listen to.

4pm - "Question and Answer Session"
Session attendees can return for one-on-one support and a Q&A with our team.

Click Here to Register

Genius Tour Down Under

The MusicMaster Down Under Genius Tour is underway this month. ON AIR General Manager Rainer Eichhorn and Create Consult Research’s Blair Sullivan have hit the road and are making stops throughout Australia and New Zealand.

MusicMaster is used by over 200 stations across Australia and New Zealand. The team will be presenting personal Genius Days for users in Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane, Wollongong, The Sunshine Coast and across the Tasman in Wellington and Auckland.

So far, the team has caught up with Grant Broadcasters, ACE Radio Network, Wave 96.5 in Wollongong, 2NUR FM from Newcastle and Foxtel's Channel [V]. Stops ahead include MTV Australia and New Zealand, Radio New Zealand, fBi Sydney, and more.

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Grant BroadcastersACE Radio Network
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Wave-FM in Wollongong Foxtel's Channel [V]
Global Gathering at IBC 2017

Last month, MusicMaster's international partners gathered at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam. The IBC is a place where the future of media is formed, and ON AIR reports that " we have formed many new partnerships that are going to bring many interesting services to MusicMaster as well as strengthen the integration with various playouts in the future." Many friends, clients and colleagues found their way to the MusicMaster Meeting Point. Among the demonstrations, MusicMaster Client-Server's new Web interface was a hit. Another highlight of the events was a boat ride through the channels of beautiful Amsterdam, where ON AIR's Rainer Eichhorn reports: "We listened to music in a relaxed atmosphere, starting off with the fitting song Mr. Blue Sky by ELO."

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MusicMaster partners: Roberto Belotti (BV Media Italy), Roberto Zeccara (BV Media Italy), Frank Kok (Top Format Netherlands)Conversations on the future of radio technology continue along the channels of Amsterdam
CCBE 66th Annual Career Development Conference

MusicMaster recently enjoyed the cool weather and warm hospitality of The Association of Central Canada Broadcast Engineers, Technologists, and Technicians in beautiful King City, Ontario. Hundreds of attendees had a pleasant time during four days of technical presentations, workshops, training sessions and hospitality suites. Broadcast engineers and technologists attended from Newfoundland to Manitoba, and had the opportunity to share experiences of surviving in today’s changing broadcast environment.

During the show, MusicMaster's Malcolm Sinclair joined forces with William "Dub" Irvin and Jim Hammond from Wide Orbit to present a paper on MusicMaster's enhanced Integration with Wide Orbit Automation for Radio. Irvin commented: "CCBE is my favorite event of the year because it allows me to interact directly with our many friends in Canada in a relaxed atmosphere. We are very happy that our friends from MusicMaster were able to join us this year, and my colleague Jim Hammond and I are already looking forward to next year."

Sinclair added: "The CCBE conference is one I look forward to every year. You get to rub elbows with a lot of current clients and potential new customers who are extremely interested in MusicMaster. The laid back style of the show allows for casual but meaningful conversations, exchanges of ideas and great input from the people who are intimate with the both the front and back end aspects of their stations. It's one of those conferences where everybody truly wants to be there and take the opportunity to learn. I'm looking forward to it again next year!"

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Durham Radio Engineer Ron Combden and MusicMaster’s Malcolm SinclairMusicMaster's Malcolm Sinclair presenting on Wide Orbit Automation's integration with MusicMasterWide Orbit's Dub Irvin
Total Devastation in Puerto Rico

MusicMaster powers many stations in Puerto Rico, all of which were negatively impacted by recent storms. While attempting to reach out, we’ve found nearly all client stations without power, internet, water and basic operating capabilities. They’re slowly regaining their ability to serve their communities.

Sandra Rodriquez of Borinquen Broadcasters' Dimension 103 shared, “We lost all power and the ability to communicate on September 22nd and our FM signal was lost due to tower damage. We were finally able to get our AM signal back up on a limited basis by mid-October. It's difficult to describe the total devastation when you’re without basic necessities while you’re still working day and night to get back on the air. Please let our fellow broadcasters know we’re doing the best we can."

MusicMaster would like to encourage each broadcaster to make a small cash contribution to the Puerto Rico Relief Fund of their choosing. MusicMaster will continue to follow this story and provide updates as our fellow broadcasters rebuild.

Brian Wheeler Returns to MusicMaster Support Team

Along with recent growth that welcomed many new users to the MusicMaster family, we have expanded our Support Team with the return of a familiar face. Brian Wheeler, who has enjoyed many career opportunities in radio programming, is also a veteran of MusicMaster's Support Team. "I'm thrilled to be a part of the MusicMaster team once again," Wheeler said. "It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of MusicMaster since I was first introduced to it in 1992. Joining the top-notch crew at MusicMaster was an easy decision. I look forward to working with MusicMaster users to give them the edge they need to win."

Paul Ziino, MusicMaster's VP of Sales and Support, commented: "I've known Brian for as long as I've been with MusicMaster. He was a great communicator and trainer when I started here more than 15 years ago, and his customers loved him. Brian took his skills out into the field and was a great programmer at various stations for the better part of a decade. Now he returns to the MusicMaster family. I couldn't be more excited for Brian, for our team, and for our customers."

Brian went to Brown Institute for Broadcasting right out of high school. After just a few months of school, he secured weekend work at his first station KQIC (Q102) in Willmar, MN. He also worked at KIGL (Lakes 105) in Spencer, IA, KRRO Sioux Falls, SD, and KKCK Marshall, MN before coming to MusicMaster in 1998. After his time at MusicMaster, Brian worked for the Relevant Radio Network, Sovereign City Radio Network, KHQG in Duluth, MN, The Timeless Cool Network, and had a brief reorganization stint at WCNZ/WMYR/WVOI Naples/Fort Myers/Marco Island. As Brian reports: "MusicMaster was present at every single music station in my radio history." Recently, Brian has also ventured into another arena, serving his Twin Cities community as an accessible transportation dispatcher for Metro Mobility.

In his spare time, Brian enjoys attending concerts, playing drums, collecting autographs and memorabilia, listening to music, traveling and spending time with family and friends. He shared: "I have a 12 year old daughter, Grace, who is my single greatest achievement. She is amazing and fills me with pride and joy."

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Brian with his girlfriend, StacyBrian on drumsTwo peas in a pod: with daughter Grace

Joe Knapp, President/Founder of MusicMaster, commented, "The exponential growth of this company has filled me with overwhelming pride and joy. It still blows my mind that the simple music scheduling program I created over 34 years ago evolved into this huge global company with thousands of MusicMaster users in every variety of entertainment platforms across dozens of countries around the world."

Brian added: "I imagine returning to the MusicMaster family to be not unlike when Peter Frampton had a beloved Gibson Les Paul returned to him, thought to be lost decades earlier. It's a wonderful reunion. Now let's get back to making music!"



Ross Turner - Group Content Director - Grant Broadcasters,
Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia

In the spirit of this month's MusicMaster Down Under Genius Tour, it seemed only fitting to choose a MusicMaster of the Month from Australia. Ross Turner is the Group Content Director for the Queensland and Northern Territories of Grant Broadcasters, a family owned network with 72 stations across the continent of Australia. Ross is anchored at his home base on the Sunshine Coast (just north of Brisbane) and also the Content Director of the heritage brands Hot91 and ZINC96, serving a market of over 311,000 people.

Ross shares: "MusicMaster is used for scheduling the music on all our stations: AM, FM, and Digital platforms. It does everything we need it to, and has made syncing, reconciling, and updating a breeze. We have a lot of moving parts within our network, and MM also allows us to effortlessly time shift logs, and import shows with ease. It's a great tool, and the walk-through videos are often used by our music directors, as it's my normal first reply when simple questions are being asked.

"I'm a fan of MM. The features it has, the linking and delivery to our playout system, and the Excel compatibility are all a godsend. I have found MM to be the best tool I've ever seen used when creating song lists for music features and countdowns. The song list editor and the special set scheduling tool have saved many people hundreds of hours in scheduling, and if for no other reason at all (of which there are hundreds) this is why it's our scheduler of choice."

Jeff Stalnaker
Software Engineer
Knoxville, TN

Jeff Stalanker has been a Software Engineer with MusicMaster since 2010. Prior to joining the MusicMaster team, he developed software for companies across a wide range of industries, from defense contractors and retailers to XM Satellite Radio. In college, Jeff had hopes of being a on-air jock and even spent one semester on the air at his college station, but he says, "It became quickly apparent that my place was not behind the microphone. I chose to join MusicMaster because it affords me the opportunity to exercise my skills with an ever-changing set of new challenges. The team here makes it a great place to work. Never have I encountered a group of people more dedicated to providing the absolute best products and support to their clients."

When not behind the keyboard making MusicMaster better, you’ll find Jeff either on the disc golf course or paddling his kayak. Jeff says: "I love being outside and try to be as much as I can. If you want to know what I’m up to, you can follow me on Twitter @jeffstalnaker. Who knows? You might even learn a thing or two. That's what I advise everyone to do; keep learning. There's such a big world out there, never stop exploring it."


Jeff with his wife and daughter.

Industry Events

  • Jan 25, 2018 - South Carolina Broadcasters Convention, Columbia, SC
  • Jan 25 - 27, 2018 - Salon de la Radio, Paris, France
  • Feb 5 - 7, 2018 - Country Radio Seminar, Nashville, TN
  • Feb 21 - 23, 2018 - Rock Radio Convention, Las Vegas, NV
  • March 6 -7, 2018 - Great Lakes Broadcasting Convention, Lansing, MI
  • March 13 - 14, 2018 - Radio Ink Hispanic Convention, Miami, FL
  • March 18 - 20, 2018 - Radiodays Europe, Vienna, Austria
  • April 9 - 12, 2018 - NAB Show, Las Vegas, NV
  • April 19 - 20, 2018 - Oklahoma Broadcasters Convention, Tulsa, OK
  • May 2 - 4, 2018 - Worldwide Radio Summit, Los Angeles, CA
  • May 9 - 10, 2018 - Canadian Music Week, Toronto, ON
  • May 15 - 17, 2018 - British Columbia Association Broadcasters, Osoyoos, BC
  • May 30 - 31, 2018 - LAB/MAB Convention, New Orleans, LA
  • June 26 - 28, 2018 - Broadcast Asia, Singapore
  • July 3 - 4, 2018 - Loaklrundfunktage, Nuremburg, Germany
  • July 25 - 27, 2018 - Conclave, Minneapolis, MN
  • August 1 - 2, 2018 - Texas Association of Broadcasters, Austin, TX
  • August 20 - 23, 2018 - PRPD, Austin, TX
  • Sept 5 - 8, 2018 - Christian Music Broadcasters Convention, Orlando, FL
  • Sept 14 - 18, 2018 - IBC, Amsterdam
  • Sept 25 - 28, 2018 - NAB Fall Radio Show, Orlando, FL
  • Sept 27 - 30, 2018 - CCBE, King City, ON
  • Oct 16 - 18, 2018 - Wisconsin Broadcasters, Madison, WI
  • Oct 25 - 27, 2018 - College Broadcasters (CBI) Conference, Seattle, WA
  • Nov 5 - 8, 2018 - WABE, Vancouver, BC
  • Are you planning to go to one of these events?
    We would love to meet you there! Contact your MSC or send us an email to let us know.

    MusicMaster Genius Days

    To be announced in 2018
  • January 23, 2018 - Cleveland Genius Day, Cleveland, OH

    For international dates, visit ON AIR Website

  • sales@musicmaster.com
    469.717.0100