Pat Welsh
by Pat Welsh
When you look at how many things have changed in radio over the past few years, it’s stunning to realize that one of the most important tasks, music scheduling, has changed so little. Many stations, especially in the U.S., still use legacy DOS-based programs (elsewhere around the world, especially in markets where music scheduling has only recently been introduced, stations are more likely to use Windows based systems).
But things have started to change in this area, too. Many stations have converted or are converting to new, Windows-based releases of various music scheduling systems. Besides the new interface and the ability to do things like changing the color scheme, doing copy and paste, customizing screens and other Windows type functions, under the hood there’s a lot more going on.
Traditional music scheduling software was based on the old card file system. Each song was represented by an index card (or its computer analog) and some form of rotating through them. Rules were added to the system to prevent the bad things from happening: songs repeating too quickly, too many slow songs in a row, making sure an artist didn’t repeat for at least 90 minutes, etc.
The next generation of software is providing music directors with smarter programs, utilizing concepts such as goal scheduling to make the computer do a lot of the work on its own. Instead of simply being a computer version of the old hand-operated card file system, new software is able to analyze and optimize a station’s database, taking a lot of the guesswork out of setting up rules for rotations and codes.
Over the years, I’ve seen a number of people (non radio programmers) try to invent new music scheduling software from scratch. One of the things that they all ask when shown existing systems is: Why don’t you let the computer figure out what the restrictions should be? For example, everyone wants to make sure that a song doesn’t keep playing in the same hours of dayparts time after time, so why not build that right into the program?
That’s exactly what the latest versions of some of the legacy music scheduling systems are doing. Systems are being built on the principle of goal scheduling. The idea is to make the software optimize the database created by the program director, rather than just wait for the operator to set and input restrictions. The best example is with moving songs through various hours and dayparts. Nobody wants a song to keep playing in the same hour day-after-day, so why should you have to put a rule to stop it from happening? Let the computer do the work in its head.
Example: Artist Separation
The benefits of goal scheduling can be illustrated by looking at artist separation. Traditionally, programmers had to choose (arbitrarily) the minimum amount of time before an artist could repeat. Let’s say you add an unbreakable artist separation rule for two hours. In this example, you might get a play pattern for a popular artist like this:
12:10AM
2:17AM
4:25AM
6:26AM
10:50AM
1:07PM
3:12PM
5:41PM
7:48PM
11:05PM.
In each case you get the minimum two hours, but occasionally you get a much larger gap than that. Applying goal scheduling to this means that the system figures out the optimum artist separation for you and tries to give it to you. The resulting pattern won’t be exact, but it will be more evenly distributed, avoiding the large gaps. So if the average separation works out to be 2:40 in our example, you might see a play pattern like this:
12:10AM
2:50AM
5:05AM
7:48AM
10:29AM
1:09PM
3:42PM
6:01PM
8:35PM
10:48PM.
Both examples show the same number of plays in a day, but the distribution is better with goal scheduling. The two systems that I have the most experience with, G Selector from RCS and Music Master for Windows, both utilize goal scheduling and other smart features, albeit in different ways. Here are a few notes on each system.
Music Master for Windows
This program is a hybrid in the sense that it can be used in the traditional way that music scheduling systems have worked, but it also has what they call “Optimum Goal Scheduling.” Optimum Goal Scheduling uses the principles I’ve described to make sure that songs rotate through the various hours and dayparts, that plays from a given artist are evenly distributed, etc.
Music Master also has other intelligent features where the system will analyze rules and settings and make recommendations. For example, its “Rule Tree Wizard” is designed to analyze all the rules in use to help programmers optimize their use. It makes recommendations on which rules should be added, which could be deleted and how the settings should be adjusted.
G Selector from RCS
This is the latest Window program from RCS, but unlike their other Windows system, G Selector is built entirely on the principle of goal scheduling. The rules in the system refer to “spread,” to make sure that songs with specific criteria are spread as evenly as possible around the daily logs. Some of the rules, especially those relating to songs moving through various hours and dayparts, can’t be deleted from the system.
The system does the same thing with other criteria that you code and include in the rules: sound codes, tempos, etc. It’s also important to note that there are manual overrides in the program. So if U2 averages a turnover of two hours, and you want it to be longer, you can manually make that change.
Implications of Music Scheduling 2.0
I’ve just scratched the surface with what these systems – and others – can do. These new systems are making the job of music scheduling simpler in many ways. I’m recommending to all my clients that they investigate these new programs and features. They can make the job of scheduling a little easier and the resulting music logs and rotation better.
By doing the work in its head, these systems can free programmers up to do the fine tuning to the daily logs or massaging the library, rather than trying to tweak the rules by setting arbitrary restrictions. After all, you have the music rotations in place that you want, so why not let the computer do the work to optimize it, rather than having to fight against it?
I’ve spent years working with a variety of different music scheduling systems. Music Scheduling 2.0, meaning smarter systems utilizing things like goal scheduling, is the wave of the future. More and more systems will integrate smart features into their existing software, or will completely scrap the legacy system in favor of something new.
Pat Welsh, Senior Vice President/Digital Content, Pollack Media Group, can be reached at 310 459-8556, fax: 310-459-8556, or at pat@pollackmedia.com.
