Trust - Music Library Admin
Last updated 23 February 2010
Home | Contact / Pick My Brains | Downloads | Engineer's Corner | Software
DAC Cartwall | JockMaster | MyLibrary | RecMe | SHOUTcaster | Trust Scheduler | txIP

    Trust  [preview]

What Is It ?
This application builds upon the proven performance of MyLibrary and incorporates a powerful scheduling package for radio broadcasters both large and small.  Trust is a complete scheduling package for radio stations - it utilises a database system to enable the placement of adverts, jingles and songs within a set of rules.  These rules can be enforced on a daily/hourly basis - essential for setting-up "no repeat daytimes", love-song shows and a quick change of programming to reflect the weather!

If you like what you see here - please send me some thoughts/ideas as I'm keen to add features that are popular...  My intentions are to give StationPlaylist Creator a run for it's money in the price-stakes but offer a more user-friendly "database" style of management.

I also don't believe that your choice of playout system should be a factor in determining what you use to schedule it - therefore I plan to support as many systems as possible.  At the start, I'll start with DPS, M3U and SPL Studio and will progress from there.

So, what can it do for me ?

• Manages a library of audio
  Tested with my own database of over 13,000 songs, 200 adverts, 500 jingles and 100 voicetracks

• Includes all features of MyLibrary
  Supports mass-tagging of files attributes (APE, BCX, ID3 and XML) - will also warn you of missing files and perform "dupe" checking

• Import Audio Folders with optional reading of tag data
  Get your BCX, CartChunk, DARP, DPS, EncoDADpro32, mAirList or SPLStudio data inside Trust with one click!

• Full Redundancy of Data
  All data will be duplicated and backed-up periodically - basic "non station" data stored in JMD (JockMaster) data files

• Generate M3U playlists
  An industry-standard playlist format

• No Installation, no registry entries
  Just un-zip and run - don't like it ?  Just delete the program folder and it's gone!

One of the drawbacks that some of the "big-boy" systems have is that they require you to load an audio file into the database before being able to play it via the playout system - this is a bit rubbish in my opinion, and something that many Community/RSL presenters wouldn't be happy about if they use their USB memory sticks to play their songs from (ie: a specialist show).  Trust will update from JockMaster and vice-versa.

A particular trait of RSL and Community stations is the frequent deviation from a pre-scheduled playlist and playing songs that the presenter wants to hear (or the listener).  When used with JockMaster, Trust will take into account the playback history of songs allowing the next schedule run to take into account this history.  It will also show you "non database" items such as those from a memory stick.  There may also be a Reconcile feature where Trust can read "as played" logs from 3rd-party playout applications.

A major concern for those who like to "tinker", especially home-users, bedroom DJs or small-scale stations is one of being able to import/export the data using Access/Excel or similar.  All of the data you enter will be able to export to plain text files.

Share your databases... Pretty much all the schedulers "out there" operate a single database of audio - if you add comments, intro points and style/tempo data you then have to export that data and import it into your other station's scheduler databases so that the data matches up... Wouldn't it be great if you set an intro point on a song on your Hits format station, and your Gold sister-station automatically saw those changes on it's own database whist still maintaining the station-specific category/rotation settings ?

Well, Trust can take care of that for you...  Oww yesh!

A single radio station running Trust will use 2 databases: a master audio database and a station database.  A 2-station group will use 3 databases: a master audio database and 2 station databases.  Each station's clock templates and schedule history will be contained within their own station database whilst the main audio attributes are kept on a global database that everybody can access.  This means that any songs which overlap your different formats can enjoy their own song separation and repeat/daypart-restrictions but globally inherit intro/segue timings, year/chart history and path\filename.

Should you chose to run the companion playout application, JockMaster, your station database will be updated with the "last played" details and Trust will take this into account when it does it's next schedule run.  This means that you can use any studio for any of your radio stations - just log into the appropriate station database in JockMaster and you're on the air!

I am still working on the program and can not offer any downloads at present.  I will add some screenshots as I make progress.

• Multiple Song Categories
  Songs can exist in different categories - however, I would advise the use of Style Codes to separate music genres

• Auto Scheduling
  OK, so you went to the pub and forget to compile tomorrow's schedule... Not a problem: Trust will automatically schedule the next day's log if it doesn't exist at 11:45pm.  No matter what playout system you're using - Trust will keep you on the air.

• Style/Genre+Tempo Codes
  Gives the ability to schedule songs next to their matching stagers in terms of style (dance, pop etc) and Tempo (slow, medium, fast etc).  Can also be used to limit the amount of styles used per hour, eg: no more than 5 "disco" tracks and never play more than 2 in a row.  This sort of rule can be set on a time-basis so that your weekend party shows play more "disco" than "love" ;)  The Style can be imported directly from the ID3 "Genre" tag.

• Network and Multiple Station Support
  The unique database structure allows for a common audio database that holds the main audio attributes (artist, title, filename, intro, segue, year etc) whilst a 2nd database unique to each station stores the Clocks, Schedules and Schedule History - this allows you to manage your audio and have the changes reflected across ALL of the stations in your group.

• Related Artists - Keeping Geri Halliwell away from Baby Spice!
  The pop industry is very fickle - today's big group are tomorrow's performers at Butlins...  Sometimes, there's at least 1 member of a group with some real talent and they go on to enjoy a fruitful solo career.

  Let's use Take That as an example - they enjoyed their hey-day in the mid-90s and have recently come back to haunt/grace us with their dulcet tones.  Their song Shine is a popular recurrent on today's CHR stations but then, so is Robbie Williams and several of his tunes.  Most DJs would know not to play Take That next to Robbie Williams unless it was part of a special feature - Unfortunately, a computer program doesn't know that they are "alike" because they are spelt differently!

  So - we need a way to tell the scheduler that 2 completely different artists are related and should be kept apart... This is where Related Artists come into play.

• Print-out of your Show Running Orders
  Scheduled hours may be printed for your DJs showing as much (or as little) detail as you wish: Artist, Title, Year, Intro, Notes etc.

What will this cost me ?
Trust can be free - to a point... In it's un-registered state, Trust is limited to:

• 100 Adverts

• 100 Jingles

• 50 Packages

• 50 Promos

• 2000 Songs

• 50 VoiceTracks

This gives you a chance to use it in a test environment before deciding to purchase.

What about support ?
There's the forum where you can ask questions, share ideas and report problems etc.

Trust Clock Screen - for managing hourly clock templates

Trust Editor - for editing audio attributes [updated]

Trust Library - viewing your files

Import Screen - for getting your audio into Trust

Trust Song Card v1 - main audio properties

Trust Song Card v2 - additional properties

Trust Song Card v3 - schedule/play history