POWER STUDIO

Asset Management

The track database is the heart of Power Studio. It stores metadata for every item used by scheduling and playout.

Content Types

Power Studio uses content types to understand how an item should behave. Common content types are:

  • Track for music.
  • Jingle for station and program imaging.
  • Promo for promotional items.
  • Spot for commercials.
  • Voice Track for presenter voice tracks.
  • Miscellaneous for other content such as streams or special macro items.

Content type also affects Now Playing behavior. For example, music tracks normally publish title and artist, while jingles and spots usually should not replace the current song metadata.

Content type also affects playlist generation. For a music track, Power Studio applies the Repeat Value for both the title and the artist. For a jingle, Power Studio only applies the Repeat Value for the title. The artist is not used for jingle artist separation, because it will often be the station name, program name or presenter name rather than a musical artist.

Metadata

Good metadata improves search, scheduling, playlist review and reporting. For each item, maintain:

  • Title and artist.
  • Album, author, version and other music metadata where the station uses it.
  • Content type.
  • Categories and classifications.
  • Rating.
  • Tempo, mood, year, language and other station-specific fields.
  • Start, intro, mix and end markers where applicable.
  • Start and end dates for temporary content.
  • Notes or other information that presenters may need during live shows.

Use consistent naming for station imaging, promos, network programs and temporary items. A clear naming convention makes it easier to find content quickly and to clean up expired items later.

The Track Editor groups information into tabs:

  • Track contains title, artist, album, author, content type and rights information.
  • Artist contains artist-level information, repeat value, last planned information and excluded artists.
  • Attributes contains active-in-planner, active-in-browser, rating, BPM, tempo, mood, year, language, audience and decade.
  • Criteria contains station-specific Criteria, Special and Rotation values.
  • Day parts controls which months and hours an item may be used in.
  • Exclude prevents selected tracks from being scheduled close to each other.
  • File contains the audio file path, availability and timing markers.

Timing Markers

Timing markers help Power Studio start, mix and finish audio cleanly. Review markers after importing important audio and before relying on automatic scheduling.

Pay special attention to:

  • Start position: the first usable audio position.
  • Pre cue start: where pre-fade listening can begin.
  • Intro and Outro: timing information presenters and playlist views can use.
  • Start next item: the point where the next item may start.
  • Fade in, fade out and fade out time: transition behavior.
  • End position: the final audible end of the file.
  • Voice track placement around transitions.

Incorrect timing markers can make a playlist look correct while the on-air transition still sounds wrong.

Adding Audio

Use the track browser or batch import tools to add files. After adding files, verify:

  • The file path is accessible from every Power Studio computer.
  • The content type is correct.
  • Categories and scheduling attributes are complete.
  • Mix points or automatic analysis results are sensible.

Avoid importing files from temporary folders or user desktops. Store broadcast audio in the planned audio storage location first.

Searching And Previewing

Use the track browser to search, filter and preview items. Pre-fade listening lets operators check audio before using it on air.

When a track should not be scheduled, exclude the track or artist instead of relying on memory or manual playlist edits.

The browser can show a filter tree for classifications such as Criteria, Special, Rotation, Decade, Audience, Language, Tempo, Mood, Rating, Repeat value and Content type. Columns such as album, intro times, tempo, BPM, year, created-on and modified-on can be shown or hidden to match the work being done.

Use planning analysis from the browser or playlist context menu when a track or artist is not appearing as expected. It can help explain whether separation, active flags, date ranges or criteria are preventing scheduling.

Batch Import

Use batch import when adding a folder of audio files. Before starting the import, set the default content type and the metadata values that should apply to the whole batch, such as active-in-browser, active-in-planner, BPM, tempo, mood, year, language, rating, criteria, special, rotation, decade and audience.

Batch import is powerful. Review a sample of imported items before importing a large folder, especially when the files should not immediately become active in the planner.

When importing several batches, reuse the last known-good start values where appropriate. Power Studio helps administrators apply entered values consistently during an import session, but the operator still needs to confirm that those values match the current folder. For example, do not reuse music defaults for promos or commercial spots.

Library Maintenance

Review the library regularly. Look for duplicate items, expired temporary content, missing files, incorrect content types and tracks that no longer fit the station format.

For larger changes, work in batches and verify the result in generated playlists before changing more metadata.