Philosophy

Better Radio Programming AB Music Scheduling Programming Philosophy

• A Music scheduling software such as SELECTOR® can do many things, but there are really only two basic goals:

1. Make the music flow good and
2. Managing exposure of music.

• The first is to make the station sound right any time a listener tunes in. It could be called simply sound and flow control. Clocks, category rules, plus rules for tempo, type, mood, sound codes, etc. should all work together toward this goal.
• The second goal is simply rotational control -- daypart rotation, hour rotation, yesterday rule, etc.
• We believe it helps to view the sound and flow rules as more important than rotational control. The reason is simple. The listener notices sound and flow instantly -- especially if it's wrong. The same listener is usually not aware to the rotational schemes that programmers devise. The listener's perception should always be the foremost consideration.
• Always think Strength - Sound - Variety and remember the power songs in the right place is # 1

 Summary

• Rotational control should be nearly automatic if you've done the math. Set up your category lengths and your clocks so the songs will naturally fall into the rotational scheme you desire.
• Keep it simple. Using too many rules will make it more difficult to schedule, compromising sound and flow and/or rotational control. Use only the rules you truly need and leave the others turned off.
• Prioritize. Use the math for rotation and use rules to focus on sound and flow. Some categories are very important to rotate right, others can be used as glue to match a perfect flow.
• Avoid too many unbreakable rules. Manually do a check of analysis and final log before you print the music log.