From the studio
Notes on automation, voice tracking and making a station sound the way you meant it to
Locking and replacing: editing a generated hour without rebuilding it
A generated hour is a starting point, not a verdict. Two commands let you correct it without losing the parts that were right.
Read the postMigrating from another automation system without going off air
The risk in a migration is not the software. It is doing it in one step, on a live station, on a Monday.
Read the postA single-PC station: what one machine actually has to do
Plenty of stations run on one computer. Here is what that machine is responsible for, and where the pressure points are.
Read the postWhat to back up, and what it costs you to lose
Five files hold your entire configuration. Copying them weekly is the cheapest insurance a station can buy.
Read the postChoosing a streaming bitrate and codec
Bitrate is a bandwidth bill and a quality decision at the same time. Here is how the defaults are chosen and when to move away from them.
Read the postWhat listeners see: stream metadata and the now-playing line
The track title in a listener's player is the only interface most of your audience ever sees. It is worth configuring deliberately.
Read the postWhen the stream drops: reconnect policy
Network connections fail. The only question that matters is whether your stream comes back without somebody noticing first.
Read the postAI show prep: notes generated from the playlist you are about to run
Show prep is the work presenters skip when time is short. Generating a first draft from the actual running order makes it likelier to happen.
Read the postKnowing what the AI cost you
Per-call billing is easy to lose track of. Logging every request with tokens and estimated cost turns a vague worry into a number.
Read the postWhere the passwords live
A studio machine sits in an unlocked room. Any credential written to disk in plaintext is a credential available to anyone who sits down at it.
Read the postRoles: not everyone in the studio should change everything
A volunteer presenter needs to run a show. They do not need to edit rotation rules or see API credentials. Roles make that distinction.
Read the postThe batch jobs worth running before you trust a library
Three background jobs turn a folder of files into a library you can schedule against. Run them once, benefit indefinitely.
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