December 2017

Welcome to MusicMaster!

New From the MusicMaster Blog

by Jesus Rodriguez - Let’s talk about Attributes! Attributes are the codes you can give to a song to define its Gender, Genre, Era, etc. Specifically let’s talk about Tempo and Mood attribute codes. As obvious as it may seem to what the difference is between these two, you would be surprised at how easily the lines are blurred. I get calls at times asking why so many slow songs are playing next to each other or sad songs playing next to a slow song. The common mistake is that many music schedulers use Tempo Slow as Sad rather than the speed of a song. For some reason the misconception is that if it’s a slow song it must be a sad song. So, in their head they hear a slow beat as they are coding and give a happy slow track a slow tempo code based on the assumption that if it’s slow it must be sad. However, not all slow songs are sad songs and this can also be the case with up-tempo dance songs that have a sad message about a break up for example. My best examples are urban records right now.

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Migrating Positions to Mix Things Up

by Paul Ziino - A client posed the following scenario. I am only using one clock 24/7. The categories always show up in the same place every hour. As such, those items at the end of the hour aren’t getting played very often—they’re dropped due to time updates in automation. I play primarily 80s pop, but have four positions per hour that are 90s, 70s pop, 80s rock, and 70s rock. Right now, that 80s rock drops almost every hour as it’s the last position. What can I do without rebuilding everything else that is working so well?

We looked at his clock. He has things spread out very well, so anything that strays from that core 80s pop sound is surrounded by that core sound. He still wanted one of each of those categories scheduled in the hour, but maybe he didn’t always need it to be the 80s rock that gets dropped. So, what did we do? Migrating Positions!

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Quick Tip: Find Unplayed Songs in History Browser

If you have tight rules, you may be wondering if that is causing songs to not play at all. Rather than looking through each song history, let the History Browser do it for you. On the Display tab, pick Individual Songs. Under the Display Options, find Include Zero Plays and set it to Yes. You can pick whatever time frame you want. When the report is displayed, there will be a Spins column that will now show you songs that have not played in your time frame. If you wanted, you could also set the Display Option for Max Total Spins to zero as well. Now you would only get zero plays. That is a list you might want to save and then use in the Schedule Editor (right click, Schedule Song, Search using Saved Song List) to find places where you might be able to play these songs. Over time, you can repeat this process, updating that Song List so it continues to be useful to you.

Happy Holidays from MusicMaster!

Happy Holidays from all of us at MusicMaster! During this season, we take time to reflect on the things we are grateful for... including all of you! From this year's brand new users to those who have joined us over 30 years ago, we appreciate the trust you have placed in us and the opportunity to be part of what you do. You have shared your talents, your passions, and the many interesting ways you use MusicMaster and inspire it to grow. Our own passions for this industry are fulfilled in countless ways because you are in our lives.

We look forward to continuing to serve you in the New Year and for many years to come. As a reminder, even when our office is closed, you can still reach your MSC for support over the holidays if you have an urgent issue. Please leave a message and your MSC will return your call as quickly as possible. If you don't know your MSC's extension or if you have an immediate need, you can call our main office line 469-717-0100 and select Support to connect with our 24-7 answering service.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and continued success in the year to come!

ON AIR Christmas Charity Supports "Doctors Without Borders"

During the most wonderful time of the year, as another busy and fruitful year comes to an end, MusicMaster's international distributor ON AIR would like to continue our important tradition of thanking all our worldwide customers for their sincere and trusting cooperation. Together with MusicMaster and all international partners, we have gone through a lot of exciting projects in 2017. Your trust in MusicMaster, together with your constant input and valuable feedback, has helped our expertise grow further, opening more new doors through which we are now going together. We are looking forward to continuing this way in 2018.

We believe that there is no better present than life, and that there is no better present than helping to rescue life and make inhumane life more human. We believe that contributing anything in our power, be it ever so small, is the best present we can give away, especially for Christmas, the feast of love.

We have decided to donate the expense that we would have usually spent for Christmas cards and gifts, and instead see our contributions in good hands with Medecins Sans Frontiers / Ärzte ohne Grenzen, who provide medical care to those in need across the planet to alleviate their suffering. It is a small contribution to make this world a little better in those areas where this gift falls into the most needing hands.

You are welcome to extend our support with your own donation. Please click here for more information or to donate. We wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas time and happy start of the new year!

Bienvenido a Grupo ACIR!

MusicMaster Welcomes Mexican Broadcasting Leader

We are very proud to welcome Mexico's Grupo ACIR and their 58 frequencies to MusicMaster! For more than 50 years, Grupo ACIR has been a powerful force of innovation and connectivity across the Mexican radio and news markets. Broadcasting across 25 cities, they have become the entertainment choice for 1 in 3 Mexicans, and have over 3 million digital users. The company operates eight formats, including five national brands (Amor, Radio Disney, Mix, La Comadre, Radio Felicidad), two web channels (Azul and City Radio), and Mexico City's Siempre 88.9.

Throughout their history, the company has achieved many "firsts" in Mexico, including: the first to play CDs in Mexico City, the first to consolidate 140 national stations, the first to use a mobile broadcast unit, the first news and radio information agency (ACIR Noticias), and the first company to market radio advertising on a national scale. As a major national brand, ACIR is known to host of some of the largest call-ins and radio events in the Mexican Republic, each with over a hundred thousand participants. With such an impressive status, ACIR has also given back to the community in many ways. They have launched programs to collect electronic waste for recycling, support the fight against breast cancer, and promote Mexican tourist destinations for economic regrowth. In 2015, Grupo ACIR celebrated their 50th Anniverary with a new identity: "Connecting Millions." Bienvenidos to our new MusicMaster users at Grupo ACIR! We are very proud to consider such an outstanding company as part of our worldwide user family.

January: Cleveland Genius Day

On January 23, MusicMaster President Joe Knapp and MSC Jesus Rodriguez will be traveling to Cleveland, Ohio for our first regional Genius Day of 2018. If you work within the area, we strongly encourage you to attend this free workshop! The event will be held at the Embassy Suites Hilton Cleveland Rockside hotel. If you are planning to stay overnight, mention MusicMaster when booking for a special rate on your room. The Genius Day will cover MusicMaster strategy and foundations, as well as advanced use of tools and time-saving shortcuts. Bring your questions and ideas, as the session is always driven by the needs of our guests. To learn more about the topics we may cover or to RSVP and reserve your spot, please click the button below.

Click for Info and Registration

Salon de la Radio 2018

The City of Light shines year-round, but to us, Paris has a very special appeal in winter. Salon de la Radio European Radio Show - perhaps Europe's fastest growing broadcast conference - will open its doors from Jan 25 - 27 to a new lineup of sessions, workshops and exhibitions. Six thousand French-speaking and international professionals are expected to meet at the beautiful historical location of Grande Halle de La Villette with its unique circular layout

Our first "European gig" in 2018 will be hosted by MusicMaster’s international partner ON AIR. Thomas Roth will be joined by Michael Buholzer and Mathieu Habegger from SwissMediaPartners and MusicMaster PRO Gérard Floener, head of music at RTL Luxembourg.

Curious about what’s in the MusicMaster pipeline? You are very welcome to stop by or to set up an appointment with our friends at the MusicMaster Meeting Point in Paris. Just contact your MusicMaster representative or e-mail ON AIR at office@onair.de.

Sand, Sun and Songs Therapy

MusicMaster always welcomes friends from around the world to join other schedulers to share ideas and programming philosophy. Recently, MusicMaster German consultant Verena Bartsch spent some time in South Florida visiting with assorted media outlets and bringing home new perspectives for the stations she consults at Absolut Radio. Of her experience, Verena shares: "I had an awsome time in Miami getting to know so many different Radio Stations and MusicMaster users. It was great to see how everybody uses different features and has their own system with MusicMaster. Every station has a different MusicMaster culture and it was great to compare it to German stations and bring home some new ideas." Thank you to everyone who welcomed Verena and extended that sunny and sandy hospitality!


Amor 107.5/Miami midday host Alberto Sardinas welcomes Bartsch	Barstch with Univision Program Director Richard CiFuentes


Music scheduling in multiple languages	South Florida music schedulers are often fueled by Cuban coffee	Olympusat’s Dean Bressler, Mary Quintero, and Jesus Oswaldo Pinango


Verena Bartsch and Mary Quintero discuss video scheduling with MusicMaster	Verena with Entercom’s Will Calder	Special studio time with DJ Bulldog, Jesus Garcia at National Latino Broadcasting

B105.7 Christmas Choir Competition

“Happy Holidays” means different things to different people, but for school-aged children in and around Indianapolis, this season offers an opportunity to sing on the radio. Each Christmas, MusicMaster user B105.7 hosts the Christmas Choir Competition, a contest where school choirs are nominated for consideration in three categories: Kindergarden-5th grade, 6th through 8th, and 9th through 12th grade.

Each divisional winner receives a $2,000 cash prize and the pleasure of performing on B105.7 on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The 2017 winners have been announced and are preparing for their big show. Would you like to listen to a sample and get in the holiday season? Click here for Christmas cheer!

Chris Patyk - Program Director - Entercom, San Diego, CA

Chris Patyk is a recent MusicMaster devotee, having come to the software during CBS Radio's transition to MusicMaster earlier this year, prior to the Entercom-CBS merger. Now operating under the banner of Entercom San Diego, Chris continues to find new things to love about MusicMaster. He shares: "Change is always hard. Selector DOS was with me from Grunge to Cookie Monster Rock to Lillith to EDM. Then came MusicMaster and it changed music scheduling. The MusicMaster team has thought of all the scenarios and is definitely thinking about the next two or three down the line. The program is intuitive and has brought our team more efficiency. Many thanks to Joe, Melanie and Jesus for delivering white glove service as we transitioned to a new way of music scheduling." Thanks, Chris! We're glad to have you on board!

Vania Smrkovski
MusicMaster Software Developer
Knoxville, TN

Vania Smrkovski, who just celebrated his 7th Anniversary at MusicMaster, is one of our software developers behind-the-scenes. His primary focus is on MusicMaster Client-Server and the mobile platforms (the MusicMaster App and the CS Web Client). Vania began working in technology in 1995 for a company that created a new software category: teaching people foreign language. Since then, he's worked with 360°x360° virtual reality, speech recognition, image character recognition, business process outsourcing, and transportation logistics. In his spare time, Vania is a huge foodie - cooking, preserving and entertaining. He says: "I've been working on homemade charcuterie and am about to start homemade cheese." He is also a filmmaker, and is gearing up for his second short film shoot next January.

Vania says his favorite thing about working at MusicMaster is: "The enthusiasm and committment of my coworkers. As a technologist, my career has always been about making software actually help people with their day jobs. The people at MusicMaster are completely invested in making the radio industry better, and that really helps me focus on how the software I work on can really make that happen." Vania's advice for people in the radio industry is: "Everything is all about social media, today. Keep exploring and experimenting with Twitter, Facebook, and all the platforms to see how your relationship with your audience can grow."