|
|
How
Program Suppliers Can Help Radio Stations
Download Their Programs
By Jim Barcus
The entire reason to make your programs available on
the internet is so your affiliates can easily
download your programs and get them on the air fast
and with ease.
A huge percentage of radio stations use broadcast
automation systems. Many program suppliers have no
clue as to what a broadcast automation systems even
is. Well, it's a computer system at the radio
station that either automatically plays or plays
with the help of a radio personality all of the
music, jingles, liners, commercials and your
programs. Many radio stations have no staffs to sit
at a computer and download your hard to get
programming. In that case, you might have
affiliates dropping your service. They want it
automatic.
The problem occurs when the program supplier makes
it extremely tough to get the programs downloaded.
You protect your audio files behind a PHP page that
is not a direct link to the filename or you protect
the files behind a non-standard login page.
The easiest way to protect your files is with an FTP
site that requires a username and password. The
second easiest way it to just place the files on an
HTML page protected by an .htpasswd file. Both of
those methods provide you with the protection of the
files not being grabbed by unauthorized stations and
it makes the files extremely easy to get in an
automated way.
Three years ago, we developed a program called the
Radio Spider and to this day, over 600 stations use
this software to automatically download their
programming. We are able to download most programs
out there except for the programs that are totally
impossible to download this way.
Here is a hint for the program suppliers:
 | Make it easy for affiliates to
download your programs and you will have more
affiliates. |
| Name your programs with
predictable file names. AT40-Hr1-Seg1.mp3 |
| Spell the file names exactly the
same each day or week. Make sure the file names
are the same upper and lower case as last week. |
| Set up an FTP site for affiliates
with automation systems so they can download
automatically. |
We have created versions of the Radio Spider for
several Radio Networks like Impact Radio Network,
Texas Farm Bureau, Georgia
Farm Radio Network, Hoosier Ag Today and the Radio
Oklahoma Network. These companies offer the Radio
Spider for FREE to their affiliates and therefore
they can stop sending out CD's and move their
programming off of satellites.
The second toughest problem for radio stations is
the non-compatibility of the stations automation
systems with being able to simply drop into the
audio file folder a new version of an audio file.
Did you know that you can spend $25k on an
automation system and that system won't even play an
MP3? It's true. It seems that the more money you
spend on an automation system, the tougher they make
everything for you. Our Digital Juke Box automation
system will play anything. Just drop the newly
downloaded file into the audio folder and the new
file will play every time. Stations that have one
of these extremely expensive systems need to insist
that they start playing MP3 files because that's
what your program supplier sends you and you want
their automation system to start acting automatic.
Once the automation makers start to feel that they
aren't selling automation systems because they
really aren't automatic, then they will change their
systems. These are very easy changes.
Jim Barcus is the Owner of The Digital Juke Box
Software based in Steubenville, OH and can be
reached at 888-OnAir-99 or on the web at
www.DigitalJukeBox.com or email at Jim@DigitalJukeBox.com. |
|
