KickRadio Music Rotation

by Curtis Machek

Table of Contents
Page1Foreword Page2PositionWithintheMarket Page2TheOldRotationSystem Page3TheNewRotationSystem Page4RotationExplanations Page5AllAboutClocks Page6Imaging Page7SeparationRules Page7Conclusion

Foreword
TheKickRadioNetworkwasanonlineradionetworkoftworadiostations(RadioKick.comand CenterSoundRadio.com).Iwasthepartialownerofbothstations,andwasresponsibleforprogrammingoneof them.Therewereplanstooperateathirdstation,butastheprojectwasoperatedasahobbyandnota business,thefocusofbothmyselfandmypartnerchangedpriortolaunch. RadioKick(willbereferredtoasRKfromnowon)wasaHotACformatstation,andCenterSoundRadio(CSR) hadaCHRformat.ThethirdstationwastobecalledI9.FM(I9)andwastobeaNewCountryformat. Themethodsdescribedinthisdocumentareveryrepresentativeofthesemodernformats.Thesemethods maynotbeappropriateforotherformatswhererotationislessfrequent.Thisdocumentismeantfor informationalandeducationalpurposesonly. Musicrotationandclockdevelopmenttookplaceoverthecourseofamonth,andwasbasedonresearch conductedbymyselfonline,andfromconsultationsdonewithindustryprofessionalsworkinginamajormarket terrestrialradio.Forthepurposeofprivacy,thispersonhasaskedtoremainanonymous. Whilethemusicspecificpartsoftheclocksaretransferablebetweendifferenttypesofradio(terrestrial,online, orsatellite),theimagingconceptsdescribedareveryspecifictomyownfindingswithinternetonlyradio. Ihopeyoufindthisdocumentuseful.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,Iamalwayshappytohelpfeelfreetoemail meatanytime. Cheers, CurtisMachek curtis@machek.ca 1

Our Position Within the Market

Thetwostreamsweoperatedhadtwomajorprimarysourcesoftraffic.ThefirstwaswiththeiTunesdirectory. RKwaslistedasActiveAConRadioKick.comandCSRwaslistedasAllTheHitsCenterSoundRadio. TheselistingsweresubmittedbeforeAppleInc.hadbecomemorestrictonstreamtitles.Therefore,wewere grandfatheredinwithAstreamnames,andwerelistedatthetopofourrespectivecategories.Thisgaveus aninterestingadvantageofalargeamountoftraffic,butbuttonpushingwasanissue.Ifapersontunedinand theirfavouritesongwasntplaying,wesawthemdisconnectveryquickly.Beforeclockoptimization,anaverage of85%ofconnectionstobothstreamsweredisconnectedduringtheinitial30seconds. OurotherprimarysourceoftrafficwasthroughtheTuneInapp.RKwasfeaturedontheirplatformonce,aswell asallmobiletraffictothewebsiteswasdirectedtodownloadtheappandtothespecificstationsonthat platform.SimilartoiTunes,withpopularformatssuchasHotACandCHR,therewasalotofselectionforthe listener,andmusichadtobecomeouredge. Itwasbecauseofstationswitchingandthefactthat85%ofconnectionswereunder30secondsthatIstarted thismusicoptimizationproject.

The Old Rotation System

WhileIhaventretainedthefiles,Icanestimatewhatitusedtolooklike. Therewere4musiccategories,whichwereasfollows: PowerHits(approx12songs) NewMusic(approx40songs) Recurrents(approx50songs) Gold(unlimited)

ThePowerHitscategorycontainedapproximately12songswhichplayed3timeseveryhour.Thisgaveusan effectiverotationof4hourspersong. NewMusicandRecurrentsplayed4timeseveryhourrecurrentshadmoresongs,sotheyrotatedslightlyless thannewmusic. Goldfilleduptherestofthehour(approx46songsanhour). Whatswrongwiththis? Firstandforemost,itwasntworking.AsIwouldfind,thenewsystemattractedlistenerswhowouldstick around.Withalownumberofcategories,controlwaslostforexactrotationofsongs. Aswell,powerhitshadevennumberswhichrotatedperfectlyintoa24hourclockwhilethescheduling softwareseparatedmysongsdaytoday,thisisntideal,asitwontworkperfectlyeverytime. 2

The New Rotation System

Ioptedtouselettersformynewcategories(theRCSSelectormethod).Itlooksabitbetteronpaper,andIfeltit waseasiertokeeptrackof. Therearetechnicallytwoseparaterotationstableswhichwillbeineffectapeakrotationandanonpeak rotation.Ourstationspeakedduringtheweekdays.OneoftheNcategoriesisaNewMusiccategory.Itsfor brandnewmusicthatmayjusthavebeenreleasedandisntpopularyet.Thesecondrotationissowecanplay thesetracksmoreoftenduringtheoffpeaktimetotestthemwiththeaudience. Myclocksarebasedon17songsperhourtwogoldsongswillalwaysendthehourincaseofoverageor shortage.Mystationswerecommercialfree.Thesenumbersmayneedtobeadjusted.

Workday (Peak) Rotation

Category A1 A2 R1 R2 N1 N2 G1 G2 Description HotCurrent Current HotRecurrent Recurrent HotNew New HotGold Gold #ofSongs 3 5 19 27 19 13 131 270 #ofPlays/Hr 1 1 2 2 2 1 4.5* 3.5* EffectiveRotation 3Hours 5Hours 9.5Hours 13.5Hours 9.5Hours 13Hours 29Hours 77Hours

*Wehavemultipleclocksthatwecyclethrough,so4.5and3.5songsperhourrotatesomehoursweplay4x G1and4xG2,andotherhoursweplay5xG1and3xG2.Seetheclocks/rotationssectionlater. LetsseehowtheNcategorieschangefortheNonPeakRotation...

Non-Workday (Off-Peak) Rotation

Category N1 N2 Description HotNew New #ofSongs 19 13 #ofPlays/Hr 1.5 1.5 EffectiveRotation 12.67Hours 8.67Hours

Similartothegoldsongs,thehoursfornonpeakalternatetheNewMusiccategories.Forsomehours,2xN1 songsareplayedwithjust1xN2.Otherhours,thereare2xN2songsandonly1xN1.

What does this all mean?

Ok,soyouveseenit.Nowyourewonderingwhy.Whythesenumbers?Whysuchoddrotations?Illexplain eachcategoryandtherationalizationbehindeachone. BeforeIdothatthough,ithelpstoknowtheprocessasongwilltravelthroughthesecategories.Theaverage songwillgothroughthefollowingsteps AddedtoN2N1A2(maybe)A1(ifitsatopsong)R1R2Gold,oroutofrotation. Firstofall,thenumbersongsinrotation(withoutcountinggold)is86songs.ForahighrotationCHR,HotAC, orNewCountrystation,thisnumberallowsyoutokeepyourlibrarybroadenoughtokeeppeoplehappywithout overplayingmostofthemusic,aswellasconciseenoughtoonlyincludethehitspeoplecangetinto.TheGold categoriescanbefilledwiththerestofthemusic(andkeepinmindalmosthalfofthesongsperhour[8]are gold). WhenasongisfirstaddedtoN2(new),itisplayedminimallyduringpeakhours,comingupevery13hours. Duringnonpeakhours,ithasachancetomakeanimpression,andwillappearevery8.67hours.Oncethe songbecomesmorerecognizable,itcanbemovedintothelargerN1(hotnew)category.Here,itwillcomeup every9.5hours(lesssoonnonpeaktimes). Ifthesongisgoodenoughtobecomeoneofthe5A2(currents)or3A1(hotcurrents),itwillcyclethroughat5 and3hoursrespectively. Then,itcanbemovedthroughR1(hotrecurrent)andR2(recurrent).ItshouldbenotedthatR1andN1carry thesameweightduringthepeakhours. Whytheoddhoursandoddnumbers? Thegoalwithusingoddhoursistotrytogetthecategoriestorotatenaturallydaytoday,andhavethe categoriesoffset.Inotherwords,wedontwanttorotateevenlyintoa24hourday. Forexample,lookatA2every5hours.Letssayasongplaysat00:00then05:0010:00,15:00,20:00, 01:00,06:00,11:00seehowitsoffsetitselfnaturallyovertothenextday?Thatsthegoalhere. Eachofthecategorieswilldothat,includingtheGoldcategories,whicharesimply24hrs+5hrs(29),and72hrs +5hrs(77). Theothercategoriesdonteffectivelyrotateevenlyinto24hrseither(9.5or13.5). Ok,butyoumissedsomething...A1rotatesevery3hoursthatgoesinto24hrsevenly Thatstheoneinstancewherethissystemisslightlyflawed.Itsaneasyfixthough,asyoullseeintheclocks sectiononthenextpage.Duringanhourinthemiddleofthenight(weselectedourleastlistenedtohour,1am), weactuallyskipplayingourA1song,andsubanotherG2in.ThiswillgiveusasinglehouroffsetontheA1 tracksandtheywillplayatdifferenthoursdaytoday. DoingthisdoesntmessuptheG2rotationbecausethereare588G2playsperweek,andasinglesongeach daymakesanegligibledifferencetothe77hourrotation. 4

All About Clocks

EarlierItalkedabouthowwehavemultipleclocksthatwecyclethrough.TherearetwodifferentHoursof musicthatwealternatebetween.Thewaythesearelaidupisultimatelythestationsdecision,butthisiswhatI did. WorkdayHour1A1,R1,G1,N1,G2,R2,R1,G1,G2,R2,N1,G1,A2,G2,N2,G1,G2 WorkdayHour2A2,R1,G1,N1,G2,R2,G1,A1,R2,G1,N1,G2,R1,G1,N2,G1,G2 TakecarefulnoteofthenumberofGsongsineachhour.Thereare4ofeachG1andG2inHour1,andthats differentfromHour2,whichhas5G1songsandonly3G2songs. IvealsomovedmyAsongsaround,andslightlymovedtherecurrentandgoldsongssoastonotfallintoa grooveeveryhour. NonWorkday(OffPeak)NCategoryChanges ToaccountforthatslightchangeinrotationfornonpeakNplays,mynonworkdayhourslookalmostidentical exceptthat,duringHour2,thefirstN1ischangedtoanN2. NonWorkdayHour1A1,R1,G1,N1,G2,R2,R1,G1,G2,R2,N1,G1,A2,G2,N2,G1,G2 NonWorkdayHour2A2,R1,G1,N2,G2,R2,G1,A1,R2,G1,N1,G2,R1,G1,N2,G1,G2 A1EvenRotationCorrection RememberhowtheA1categoryrotatedevenlyinto24hours?Weneedtocreateanoffsetbyexcludingitinthe middleofthenightatthestatisticallyweakesthour.Forme,thatis01:00.Since,usingthealternationrules, 01:00wouldnormallybeaNonWorkdayHour2,Isimplycreatedacopyofit,andcalleditNonWorkdayHour 2B.TheonlydifferenceisthattheA1isnotplayed,andisinsteadsubstitutedwithaG2. NonWorkdayHour2BA2,R1,G1,N2,G2,R2,G1,G2,R2,G1,N1,G2,R1,G1,N2,G1,G2 AlternatingBetweenHours Ialternatealldayasfollows: 00:00Hour1 01:00Hour2B 02:00Hour1 03:00Hour2 04:00Hour1 etcetc 21:00Hour2 22:00Hour1 23:00Hour2 Ifthehourisapeakhour,IsimplyschedulethePeakorWorkdayHour.ImaintaintheHour1&2alternationall day,regardlessofwherethepeakhoursstartorend. 5

Imaging
Whiletherestofthisguidecouldbetransferredtootherradiomediums,thissectionisspecificto InternetOnlinestreamingradio. Sinceallinternetradiotunershavethestationnamedisplayed,aswellasthefactthatmostinternetstreams areprimarilyamusicservice,itisarguedsometimesthatimagingcanbekepttoalowernumber.WhileI partiallyagreewiththis,ourstationsatintheinterestingAsectionofiTunes.Becauseofthenumberof shorttermlisteners,itwasincrediblyimportanttostampanaudiobrand. OurstationwaslistedasActiveAConRadioKick.com,soitwasarulethatallimagingwouldhavethat phraseinit.ManystationIDswereveryshortwithjustthatsinglephrase,butitwasimportanttohavethem thereforthebranding. Ihadtwoseparateimaginglayoutsonewasamorefrequentfornonworkdays.Thiswas:SONG,IMAGING, SONGSONG,IMAGING,repeated. Duringtheworkday,Ilightenedupalittlebit,alwaysplayingtwosongsbetweeneverypieceofimaging. Picturedbelowaretwoofmyclocks,completewithsongcategoriesandimaging.ThefirstistheNonWorkday (OffPeak)Hour1,andthesecondisWorkday(Peak)Hour2.

Separation Rules
Whilethissystemisideallyperfectforrotationandseparationofsongs,theresnostationthatdoesnthave multiplesongsbyasingleartistintheirplaylist.ForRadioKick,weplayedalotofTaylorSwift,andtherefore wouldhaveherinmultiplecategories. Thisiswhythesoftwarehasartistseparationrules,aswellasdaypartseparationrules. ForRadioKick,Ineverusedanymood,tempo,energy,genre,orotheradvancedseparationrulesjustthe basicartist,song,anddaypart(nextday). Totheright,youllseeascreenshotofmyglobalseparation rulesinStationPlaylist.Theserulesworkedwellforthe schedulertoworkoutanyproblemswiththerotation.The schedulerautomaticallychoosesthebestsongtoinsert giventhecircumstances,anditdidanalrightjob. Exceptions Therearetwoexceptionstotheserules.Twocategories whichwealwayswanttorotateevenlyareourCurrent categories(A1andA2).Regardlessofseparationrules, thesecategoriesarethehothitswhich,iftheydontrotate properly,willoverplayandplaytoooften. Tosolvethisproblem,wemustoverridetheglobalsettingsonacategorylevel.Thefollowingshowsmy separationrulesforboththeA1andA2categories.

Conclusion
AndthatsaboutitfortheKickRadioMusicRotationsystem.Itsacomplicatedsystem,butIfound,inpractice,it workedreallywell.Idlovetohearyourcommentsonittooletmeknowwhatyouthink.curtis@machek.ca. 7