Before you start
The generator picks songs from the Library, so add your music folders there first (the Library tab, then Rescan library from the File menu after you add new files). Open the generator with Tools → Playlist generator or Ctrl+G. It has three parts, top to bottom: Auto-playlist, Categories and Templates.
Can't open it? The playlist generator is a tool an administrator can allow or block per user. See users and permissions.
1. Make your categories
A category is a pool of tracks the generator can pick from. Each one has a name and some filters; leave a filter empty to mean "any".
| Filter | What it matches |
|---|---|
| folder | Tracks whose file is inside this folder (or any folder in it). Use … to pick it. |
| genre | Tracks whose genre tag contains this text, ignoring capitals. rock matches Rock, Soft Rock and Rock & Roll. Separate several with commas: rock, pop takes either. |
| length | Shortest and longest track in seconds. A maximum of 0 means no limit. Handy for keeping long album versions or short IDs out. |
| years | The year tag, from and to (any = no limit). 1980 – 1989 makes an 80s category. |
| leave out | Words, separated by commas, that keep a track out when its artist, title, genre or file name has one of them, for example live, remix, instrumental. |
A typical music station might have:
| Category | Filters |
|---|---|
| Current | folder D:\Music\Current |
| Recurrent | folder D:\Music\Recurrent |
| Gold | folder D:\Music\Gold, length 120–420 s |
| Station IDs | folder D:\Jingles\IDs, length 0–30 s |
Press ➕ Add category for each one. The delete button asks Delete! / Keep first, so a stray click won't lose anything.
2. Write a template
A template describes how the programming should sound. Press ➕ New under Templates, then set:
- Name: what you'll pick it by, for example Daytime or Overnight.
- Length: how much to make, from 5 minutes to 24 hours (1440 minutes), or until a time of day, such as until 22:00, the next time the clock gets there.
- Artist separation: how many tracks must pass before the same artist can play again. 8 to 12 suits most music stations.
- Song separation: how many minutes before the same song can come back. Off means a song can return once its category has been played through.
The pattern
The pattern is the running order the generator repeats until the length is reached. Each step is a count and a source: a category, or the files of one of your advert or jingle rules. Press ➕ Add pattern step for each step. For example:
| Step | Count | From |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2 × | Current |
| 2. | 1 × | Gold |
| 3. | 1 × | Recurrent |
| 4. | 1 × | Station IDs |
That gives Current, Current, Gold, Recurrent, ID, then round again.
3. Times of day
A station rarely sounds the same all day. Under Times of day, press ➕ Add time of day to give some hours their own pattern: pick the hours (from 06:00 to 10:00, for example), the days, and the steps. The first time of day that covers the clock is used, and outside them the main pattern is. 22:00 to 06:00 runs over midnight.
| Time of day | Hours and days | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 06:00–10:00, Mon–Fri | 1 × Talk, 2 × Current |
| Overnight | 00:00–06:00, every day | 3 × Gold, 1 × Station IDs |
The clock follows the new tracks from where they will start on air, so a template that runs from 05:00 switches to the breakfast pattern at about 06:00.
4. Inserts
Inserts are things that go in on their own schedule instead of by position in the pattern, set up like advert and jingle rules. Press ➕ Add insert, pick what to insert and how many, then when:
| When | Example |
|---|---|
| after every N songs | 1 × Station IDs after every 4 songs |
| every N minutes | A jingle every 15 minutes. Tick on the clock to count from the top of the hour, so every 60 minutes means at :00. |
| at set times | 1 × Talk at 18:00 and 20:30 |
Each insert can be limited to some hours (untick all day). An insert can come from a category, from the files of an advert or jingle rule, or be a ⏰ Time announcement: ➕ Add time announcement adds one at the top of every hour. ➕ Add jingles is a shortcut that adds your first jingle rule every 15 minutes.
Timed inserts go in after the song that's playing when the time comes, so songs are never cut.
Hour markers
Tick Hour marker at the top of every hour and the generator places an hour marker where each new hour starts, so the station stays on the clock even if the songs run long or short.
5. Preview and generate
👁 Preview shows the running order with the time each row starts, the number of tracks and the total length, without touching the playlist. Press ⟳ Again for another mix, tick after the playlist to see it as an addition, and ✔ Put it in the playlist when you like it. Or go straight to:
- ▶ Generate (replace playlist) clears the playlist and fills it with the template.
- Append to playlist adds the new tracks after the last row, keeping what's already there.
The log shows how many tracks were made. If it says the generator produced nothing, check that the library has been scanned and that your category filters match some tracks.
Keep the playlist filled automatically
At the top of the window, tick Keep the playlist filled automatically, pick a template and how many minutes should always be left (for example "when under 30 min left"). RadioMaster checks every couple of seconds and appends a fresh batch from that template whenever the playlist runs low, so the station never runs dry.
Generate on a schedule
To make a new playlist at set times, use the event scheduler actions Generate a new playlist from a template or Add tracks from a template after the playlist. The same thing works as a station command in a playlist command row or from a plugin:
GENERATE Overnight APPEND Daytime
Tips
- Within one generated playlist, every track in a category plays once before any of them repeats, so big categories stay fresh.
- If artist separation can't be met (a small category with few artists), the generator still picks a track rather than leaving a gap.
- Timed inserts (jingles, IDs, adverts) don't count towards artist separation.
- Times of day let one template cover a whole day. For very different shows you can still make a template each and switch between them with the event scheduler.
- While connected to RadioMaster Server, the library and folders are the server's, so a category folder is typed the way the server sees it, for example
/srv/music/current.