What always comes along
The music itself, in the highest format you have. We process FLAC and WAV without loss; MP3 works, but what is gone does not come back. The metadata: title, artist, album, year, and the category or group a song sat in with you. Jingles, sweepers, beds and commercials, with their own start and end points. The clocks as a description: which kinds of elements in which place.
What we re-measure
Cue points from another system are our starting point, but we measure them again. Not because they are wrong, but because every automation defines them slightly differently: one measures the segue as the start of the fade, another as its end. On import we measure cue-in, cue-out, segue, intro and extro on the file itself. Whatever you then move in the editor takes precedence.
Tempo and loudness are measured too. BPM is a whole number in our table; a station that programmes by tempo needs that value for every song.
The order that works
First the library, then the jingles, then the clocks, then the presentation, and only then switch the stream. In that order you can hear every step before the next begins: an hour from the new clock as a trial, without the listener noticing. Switching the stream is last and takes seconds: the old system stops feeding, the new one starts. Reverse the order and move the stream first, and you are without a safety net.
What need not come along
Custom rules that patched a hole in the old system. Many stations have built emergency measures over the years: a second playlist that kicks in when the first is empty, a script that intervenes at :58. In a system where the clock is the source and the hour is ready well ahead, those are redundant. Do not bring them; first check whether the problem still exists.
Your own server, not a shared pool
With us every station gets its own server with a backup at a second location. That means a fault at another station does not touch your broadcast, and your music and clocks are somewhere else every night. When switching we first set up that server, load the library, and run trials while the old system is still on air.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a switch take?
Loading and measuring the library takes hours to a day, depending on size. Setting up clocks and presentation is a few days' work in consultation. Switching the stream takes seconds.
Can I run my old system alongside the new one?
Yes, that is the intention. The old system keeps broadcasting until the new one has run faultlessly for a number of hours.
Will I lose my listening figures?
No. The stream URL can stay the same or is redirected; listeners and directories such as TuneIn notice nothing of the change.