Radio Automation Options
Joel Willer / KXUL
Aaron Read / WEOS
More than just a computer and
sound card…and why a Winamp
playlist doesn't (usually) cut it !
Why do you need automation?
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Your listeners demand 24/7/365 operation.
You need the freedom to de-air live staff that are
being disciplined.
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Protect against 47 CFR 73.561 time-share
challenges.
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Sometimes you gotta lay on the smackdown.
Technically only @ license-renewal, but can be referenced from any
time between renewals!
Can also be used to enhance live DJ operation,
and reduce CD theft impact.
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
Why do people hate (hate, hate, HATE)
automation?
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Because a lot of stations do it very badly!
 Reduce
playlist diversity and to lay off staff.
 When done cheaply/poorly, it sounds like crap.
 It requires approximately 1 hour of work for
every 3 - 8 hours of programming.
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Think about how much work that means every day.
When done right it can sound exactly like
your live DJ’s. In some cases, better! 
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
Just how much automation do
you need?
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Determined by various factors:
 Format
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More genre diversity = Exponentially more work.
 Size
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of your station.
of your music library.
Rip CD’s in house or outsource? Moondogdigital.com
 Man-hours
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Expect to spend several hours every week just on updating.
 Budget
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available now & long-term.
for hardware, maintenance & upgrades.
The piper is always paid! See next slide…
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
Piper is always paid?
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Cannot treat this like a desktop PC project where you get
the cheapest HW/SW you can scrounge.
This is a mission-critical application that must run
reliably 24 / 7 / 365 and be used by many people!
Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy!
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Multiple, mirrored hard drives (RAID)
Regular, off-site DVD-ROM backups
UPS / Battery backups
Redundant hardware (on hot or warm standby)
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Ideally – can be switched to remotely via cellphone/wireless internet
or will switch automatically.
If it can possibly fail at the worst possible time, it will!
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
On the other hand:
What’s the cost of failure?
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What does each minute of dead air (automation failure)
cost your station?
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Underwriting make goods?
Lost listeners / indirect impact at fundraisers?
College admins’ respect / indirect impact with annual budget?
Other factors?
Commercial & big pubradio stations spend a lot on
automation because every minute of downtime can cost
them $1000’s or more.
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May not cost your station as much.
If you shut down for overnights and weekends anyways, the cost
per minute of dead air is probably a lot less.
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
Holy #$%&!!! Why is AudioVault so
EXPENSIVE?!?!?
…or Enco, or Prophet, or Dalet, or Google (formerly Scott Systems)
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Like many things in radio, you don’t really pay
for the equipment or software itself – you pay for
the SERVICE!
 Adapting
to new paradigms: ContentDepot, codecs,
operating systems.
 Updating to new Operating Systems / User
Conditions
 Some help in emergency situations.
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No substitute for your own engineer!
Expensive does not always equal Better Service.
Ask your peer stations for advice.
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
So if I’m paying for service…
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…why does the service SUCK?!?
Because you’re not paying for a vendor to wave
a magic wand and fix your problem.
 You
need someone who knows the system on your
end who can do that.
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You’re paying to get a system that will take
advantage of changes in the overall broadcast
engineering world.
 ContentDepot,
podcasting, RDS, new Windows/Mac
Operating Systems, etc.
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
Examples: I’m Completely Broke.
$0 aka FREE!
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Winamp Radio Scheduler
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http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details/138768
 Freeware Visual Basic plugin for Winamp
 Very basic, but surprising features for freeware. It can schedule
playlists, jingles/legal ID’s, and have heavy rotation.
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No voicetracking ability; this cannot realistically sound like a live DJ is in the
station. No live-assist ability, either.
Good if you’re “testing the waters”, or don’t care too much about how it
sounds; you just want something on the air. Requires an innate
knowledge of Winamp playlists to really set up right, though.
 Software is free, but don’t be too cheap with your computer…it’s gotta
be reliable enough to run 24/7/365.
 ZERO tech support!!!

See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
I’m Merely a Cheap S.O.B.
$100 - $1000 range
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JockeyPro LT
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http://www.11software.com
 Is the cheapest ($99) automation software that has some form of
voicetracking ability. Also has playlist scheduling/dayparting.
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Also has decent live-assist functionality
Has quirks – will not play improperly encoded MP3’s, won’t play
anything but MP3’s or WAV’s. Requires you to set InQ/OutQ points for
every track you load (this is something you really should do anyways,
but it’s very tedious at first)
 Historically, 11software has poor track record on tech support.
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“Turn-key” systems offered, but specs are a little shady.
Good choice for a station that has one or two professional employees, a
very involved faculty advisor, and/or a good track record of skilled
students, to help keep the automation updated and running.
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
I’m Merely a Cheap SOB.
$100 - $1000 range
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Raduga ($150-$1000)
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Arrakis – Digilink Xtreme ($100/month)
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Pretty cheap, but Arrakis’ track record for quality is not good.
MegaSeg ($250)
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Doesn’t offer much over WRS but costs a lot more. Tech
Support is minimal, software is “buggy” (won’t play MP3’s if
wrong encoding algorithm was used)
Gets high praise from users, runs on a Mac (plus or minus?).
Really more of a DJ-style program than a radio station
automation program.
Many others (OTSjuke, Spacial Audio SAM, etc etc etc)
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
I have some money...not much
$1000 - $10000 range
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This is an awkward range, it’s not cheap, but there’s a
limit to functionality & support you’ll get.
BSI’s Simian - http://www.bsiusa.com
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Generally has all the functionality of the “big boys”;
voicetracking, live-assist, dayparting, scheduling, etc.
They do offer good “Turn-key” systems.
Some find it clunky and hard to use…especially to set up.
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Others say it’s “bulletproof” once set up.
Support : better than freeware, but no substitute for a real
engineer or technically-inclined manager.
Wireready - http://www.wireready.com
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
I have some money...not much
$1000 - $10000 range
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Audiovault, Enco & others may have sub-$10k versions, but these
are hard-core systems being stripped down to make it cost less.
Probably overkill and/or too complicated for your needs, but lacks
the top-notch service.
One exception: Enco & PRSS
ContentDepot requires an automation system to work. So if you don’t
have a compatible one, PRSS will provide you with a very basic Enco
system. (as part of what you pay to be a PRSS member)
 This is barely an “automation” system, though. In some ways it’s less
functional than WRS. However, for not too much extra money you can
get a more functional Enco.
 Moral of the story: if you are thinking of getting pubradio programming
and don’t have automation, consider Enco!
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See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
I have mad money!
$10000 - $50000+
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Audiovault, Enco, Prophet Systems, Dalet, Google
Automation (aka Scott Systems), etc
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All excellent systems, but may have too many features for your
needs / capabilities.
Better investment might be in professional staff.
Fortunately, all have fairly knowledgeable & relatively
honest sales staffs who (usually) won’t try to roll you.
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FYI – Prophet was created specifically for Clear Channel
stations and their needs. May or may not work for you.
Long-term view is dicey with CC’s business selloff.
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation
Final Thoughts
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Questions – tell us your situation, we’ll try and
recommend a good place to start.
One last thing: don’t look at your budget and say
“We can’t afford to do this.” Look at your broadcast
needs and decide if you can’t afford not to do
this…and then figure out how to raise funds or cut
costs accordingly.
Aaron Read & Joel Willer can both be reached via the CBI listserv.
 Sign up at www.askcbi.org
Aaron’s blog : www.friedbagels.com/blog
These slides available at : www.friedbagels.com/cbi/
See also : http://radiomagonline.com/automation/radio_inside_automation