Radio-Albena
Member
Radio Music Analytics v0.3.4
Hi everyone,
I would like to introduce Radio Music Analytics v0.3.4, a free and open-source companion project for RadioBOSS.
The project started as a way to analyze listener song ratings, but has since developed into a broader music analysis system for RadioBOSS.
It combines listener feedback, SongSync library/play data and RadioBOSS scheduler event information to help identify rotation problems and improve music programming.
Most importantly:
Radio Music Analytics is advisory. It does not automatically modify your RadioBOSS configuration.
It shows what may need attention – the broadcaster remains in control.
Main features
Radio Music Analytics currently includes:
- Listener Song Ratings
- Rating Dashboard
- Rating Cleanup
- Charts
- Song Rotation Analysis
- RadioBOSS Event Rotation Analysis
- Library Coverage Analysis
- Never-played song detection
- Top-song concentration analysis
- Artist balance analysis
- Repeat analysis
- Multiple station support
- SongSync integration
- RadioBOSS SDL event integration
Dashboard
The Dashboard provides an overview of listener feedback and quick access to the main analysis tools.
Ratings are separated into:
Like / Neutral / Dislike
Songs can then be grouped into useful review states such as:
Popular
Observe
Review
Not enough votes
This makes listener ratings useful for programming decisions instead of simply collecting votes.
Rating Cleanup
Music libraries change over time.
Songs are added, replaced or removed from RadioBOSS, while old ratings may still remain in the web database.
Rating Cleanup compares rated songs against the current SongSync catalogs and identifies ratings belonging to songs that are no longer present.
Nothing is deleted automatically.
The administrator can review the results first.
Rotation Analysis
Rotation Analysis uses SongSync data to examine how the music library is actually being used.
It shows information such as:
- Total songs
- Songs that have been played
- Songs that have never been played
- Play counts
- Last-played information
- Library coverage
- Top 10 concentration
- Artist balance
The system then provides advisory rotation recommendations.
For example, low library coverage can indicate that a large part of the music database is never reaching the air.
A high Top 10 concentration can indicate that a relatively small group of tracks is receiving too much of the total airplay.
Artist balance can help identify cases where one artist is becoming too dominant.
These are recommendations only.
Radio Music Analytics does not change RadioBOSS presets, repeat protection or playlists automatically.
Event Rotation
This is one of the major additions to the project.
Station-wide statistics are useful, but they do not tell you where a rotation problem occurs.
Event Rotation combines SongSync play history with RadioBOSS scheduler information.
SongSync v1.7.0 can export playlist events from the RadioBOSS:
Admin.sdl
file.
Radio Music Analytics can then map actual play history to the detected RadioBOSS music blocks.
For example:
Morning
Daytime
Afternoon
Evening
Night
depending on how the station's RadioBOSS scheduler is configured.
Each block can be analyzed separately.
Per-event statistics
Event Rotation can show:
- Number of plays
- Number of tracks
- Number of artists
- Repeat plays
- Top 10 share
- Number of sample days
- Most frequently played songs
- Rotation recommendations
This makes it possible to find a problem that may be invisible in station-wide statistics.
For example, the overall station rotation may look healthy while the Morning event repeatedly selects a much smaller group of songs.
RadioBOSS preset recommendations
Based on the observed play history, Analytics can provide recommendations for settings that should be reviewed in the corresponding RadioBOSS preset or playlist.
One example is title-variant repetition.
Radio edits, remixes or duplicate versions of the same title can sometimes bypass normal track-level repeat protection.
Analytics can detect patterns like this and suggest reviewing the corresponding RadioBOSS repeat settings.
Again:
Analytics never changes these settings automatically.
SDL matching and time zones
Event Rotation uses the configured station timezone when matching SongSync play timestamps against RadioBOSS scheduler events.
This is important for installations where the web server, RadioBOSS PC or station operate in different time zones.
The interface also shows when the current SongSync and SDL data were generated, making it easier to see whether the analysis is based on current information.
Important limitation of event analysis
A song that has never been played has no play timestamp.
Therefore it cannot logically be assigned to Morning, Evening, Night or another scheduler event.
Never-played statistics consequently remain station-wide.
Once a song has actual play history, its plays can be mapped to the appropriate scheduler blocks.
SongSync integration
Radio Music Analytics works together with RadioBOSS SongSync.
SongSync supplies the current library and play information used by Analytics.
With SongSync v1.7.0, playlist-event information for Analytics can also be enabled directly in the new Setup Wizard:
Exports → Export playlist events for Radio Music Analytics
Select the RadioBOSS Admin.sdl file and SongSync will export the required path-safe event metadata.
Local Windows paths remain private.
Multiple stations
Analytics supports separate station datasets.
The interface allows switching between stations without mixing their rotation statistics.
This can be useful for broadcasters operating more than one RadioBOSS station or format.
Typical workflow
A practical workflow is:
RadioBOSS
↓
SongSync
↓
Library + play history + SDL event information
↓
Radio Music Analytics
↓
Review recommendations
↓
Adjust RadioBOSS manually if required
This keeps the analysis system separated from the actual broadcast automation.
Requirements
A typical installation requires:
- RadioBOSS
- SongSync
- PHP-capable web hosting/server
- Database for the web application
- Current SongSync data
For Event Rotation, the RadioBOSS Admin.sdl event export must additionally be enabled in SongSync.
Current version
Radio Music Analytics v0.3.4
The software is still under active development, so feedback and real-world testing are very welcome.
In particular, I am interested in how the rotation recommendations behave with different station formats, library sizes and RadioBOSS scheduling strategies.
The goal is not to let software program the station automatically.
The goal is to provide the broadcaster with better information for making those decisions.
Free and open source.
Download / Source Code
GitHub:
https://github.com/mixnetwork1959/Radio-Music-Analytics
Open Releases to download the latest version.
Current version:
Radio Music Analytics v0.3.4
The project is free and open source.
Feedback and testing with different RadioBOSS libraries, scheduling structures and station formats are very welcome.
