This article will give you an overview of Tether Voting Sessions (UPick and Stylized).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- UPick Voting Sessions Overview
- "Stylized" Voting Sessions Overview
- Voting Session Clock Setup
- Programming Ideas
UPick Voting Sessions Overview
Voting Sessions with Tether give your listeners the chance to pick the next song you play on air. Voting sessions are a proven way to drive TSL on your radio station.
With "UPick" voting sessions, the PD pre-schedules the song choices (typically 3-5 songs), and listeners pick the one that plays on the air.
"Stylized" Voting Sessions Overview
"Stylized" voting sessions are a great way to enhance your station's voting sessions. They are ideal for special throwback or out-of-format features (like holidays or specialty weekends), or they could be used to add a custom design to your station's voting sessions.
There are several types of stylized voting sessions available. For all of these types, voting sessions must only contain two songs.
To set up stylized voting sessions for your station, please contact Futuri VIP Support.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Boxers
Food Fight
Battling Robots
Dodgeball
Snowball Fight
This design allows different avatars to be mixed and matched or doubled up (i.e. two snowmen duking it out).
Avatar 1 | Avatar 2 |
|---|---|
Santa  | Frosty  |
Boy  | Girl  |
Mortal Songbat
With Mortal Songbat, the following avatars are available and are designed to be pitted against each other, but can be mixed and matched (or doubled-up, i.e. two 90s avatars against each other):
Avatar 1 | Avatar 2 |
|---|---|
Alternative  | Country  |
US  | UK  |
Live  | Studio  |
90s  | 2000s  |
Voting Session Clock Setup
This section will walk through how to set up a clock in your music scheduler for Voting Sessions. A Tether license (or a legacy LDR1, #engage or Takeover license) is required to make voting sessions function in your automation system.
During your Tether onboarding, you will work with your Partner Success representative to set up your clocks. You can use this article to refer to.
Elements Needed
You'll set up the following elements (see the table under each element for details on your automation system):
In most cases, you'll want to create these elements before building your clocks. If you're using WideOrbit with MusicMaster, it'll be easier to create the elements directly on the clocks themselves.
If you use GSelector, your commands can be created either as Breaknotes (under Clocks) or as Links (under Linker). If you see fields configured under Interface > Export > Schedule > Breaknote, then you can use Breaknotes for your Tether commands. Otherwise, you must use Linker.
If you don't see your automation system or music scheduler listed, Futuri VIP Support can help you to determine how to add these elements.
UPickStart
The UPickStart is the command that triggers your Tether voting window to display the voting session.
| Automation System | Music Scheduler | How to create |
|---|---|---|
| NexGen | GSelector | Can either be set up as a Breaknote (under "Clocks") or as a Link (under "Linker"). The text UPickStart goes in the title field, and the Media field should be 20. All other fields can be blank. |
| Selector V12 (DOS) | Set up in Linker with the title text UPickStart and the Media field 20. Note the Link's ID number so you can add it to the clock later. | |
| MusicMaster | Set up as a Lognote with the following syntax: ^20^^UPickStart. (Note - some MusicMaster stations may need three carats instead of two between the number and the title. Check with MusicMaster Support to be sure.) | |
| SS32, Audiovault, Maestro | Selector V12 (DOS) | During your initial setup, you should have created an audio cart in your automation system called "UPickStart." You'll need to create that audio cart in Selector as well so that you can schedule it in a clock. Check your automation system for the cart number / cut ID. This can be added either as a song or a link in Selector. |
| MusicMaster | During your initial setup, you should have created an audio cart in your automation system called "UPickStart." You'll need to create that audio cart in MusicMaster as well so that you can schedule it in a clock. Check your automation system for the cart number / cut ID. Once you have created the item in MusicMaster, you'll need to note its file number so that you can schedule it as a "Forced" element in your clock. | |
| Stratus | During your initial setup, you should have created an audio cart in your automation system called "UPickStart." You'll need to create a breaknote in Stratus as well so that you can schedule it in a clock. Check your automation system for the cart number / cut ID. The syntax (for the breaknote's "notes" field) is ,,607,DA9600,"UPickStart",,00:10,,,, (using your own category / cut ID). | |
| Zetta | GSelector | After Zetta has been configured and you have synced your Macros with GSelector, the Control element called Macro (UPickStart) should automatically exist. |
| WideOrbit | Selector V12 (DOS), MusicMaster | Create a link (in Selector) or a lognote (in MusicMaster) with the following syntax: ,,,..,"UPickStart",,,,,, |
| Powergold | In the Automation Command Editor (under Edit > Commands | Automation), create an element with the title UPickStart, and put two periods (..) in the Source field (to identify the element as a memo). | |
| OpX | Stratus | Create a song element with the title UPickStart and the cut ID FUT09. |
LDR Vote Options Start
The LDR Vote Options Start breaknote will go before the list of pre-scheduled vote options in your log.
NOTE: If your automation system is SS32, Audiovault, Maestro, or OpX, and the title field on your log export file contains fewer than 18 characters, you can call this breaknote "Vote Options Start" instead. This will NOT work with other automation systems. Please consult Futuri VIP Support if you're not sure what this means.
| Automation System | Music Scheduler | How to create |
|---|---|---|
| NexGen | GSelector | Can either be set up as a Breaknote (under "Clocks") or as a Link (under "Linker"). The text LDR Vote Options Start goes in the title field, and the Media field should be 09. All other fields can be blank. |
| Selector V12 (DOS) | Set up in Linker with the title text LDR Vote Options Start and the Media field 09. Note the Link's ID number so you can add it to the clock later. | |
| MusicMaster | Set up as a Lognote with the following syntax: ^09^^LDR Vote Options Start (Note - some MusicMaster stations may need three carats instead of two between the number and the title. Check with MusicMaster Support to be sure.) | |
| SS32, Audiovault, Maestro | Selector V12 (DOS) | You'll create a Link called "LDR Vote Options Start" that will NOT need to have any audio associated with it. It's essentially a lognote to mark where the vote options start. |
| MusicMaster | You'll create a Lognote directly on the clock called "LDR Vote Options Start" | |
| Stratus | You'll create a breaknote in Stratus using the following syntax (for the breaknote's "notes" field): ,,,,"LDR Vote Options Start",,00:00,,,, | |
| Zetta | GSelector | Add a Breaknote (under Clocks > Breaknotes) called "LDR Vote Options Start" |
| WideOrbit | Selector V12 (DOS), MusicMaster | Create a link (in Selector) or a lognote (in MusicMaster) with the following syntax: ,,,..,"LDR Vote Options Start",,,,,, |
| Powergold | In the Automation Command Editor (under Edit > Commands | Automation), create an element with the title LDR Vote Options Start, and put two periods (..) in the Source field (to identify the element as a memo). | |
| OpX | Stratus | Create a song element with the title LDR Vote Options Start and the cut ID FUT01. |
LDR Vote Options End
The LDR Vote Options End breaknote will go after the list of pre-scheduled vote options in your log.
NOTE: If your automation system is SS32, Audiovault, Maestro, or OpX, and the title field on your log export file contains fewer than 18 characters, you can call this breaknote "Vote Options End" instead. This will NOT work with other automation systems. Please consult Futuri VIP Support if you're not sure what this means.
| Automation System | Music Scheduler | How to create |
|---|---|---|
| NexGen | GSelector | Can either be set up as a Breaknote (under "Clocks") or as a Link (under "Linker"). The text LDR Vote Options End goes in the title field, and the Media field should be 09. All other fields can be blank. |
| Selector V12 (DOS) | Set up in Linker with the title text LDR Vote Options End and the Media field 09. Note the Link's ID number so you can add it to the clock later. | |
| MusicMaster | Set up as a Lognote with the following syntax: ^09^^LDR Vote Options End (Note - some MusicMaster stations may need three carats instead of two between the number and the title. Check with MusicMaster Support to be sure.) | |
| SS32, Audiovault, Maestro | Selector V12 (DOS) | You'll create a Link called "LDR Vote Options End" that will NOT need to have any audio associated with it. It's essentially a lognote to mark where the vote options end. |
| MusicMaster | You'll create a Lognote directly on the clock called "LDR Vote Options End" | |
| Stratus | You'll create a breaknote in Stratus using the following syntax (for the breaknote's "notes" field): ,,,,"LDR Vote Options End",,00:00,,,, | |
| Zetta | GSelector | Add a Breaknote (under Clocks > Breaknotes) called "LDR Vote Options End" |
| WideOrbit | Selector V12 (DOS), MusicMaster | Create a link (in Selector) or a lognote (in MusicMaster) with the following syntax: ,,,..,"LDR Vote Options End",,,,,, |
| Powergold | In the Automation Command Editor (under Edit > Commands | Automation), create an element with the title LDR Vote Options End, and put two periods (..) in the Source field (to identify the element as a memo). | |
| OpX | Stratus | Create a song element with the title LDR Vote Options End and the cut ID FUT02. |
PickWinner (OpX only)
If your automation system is OpX, you will need an element called "PickWinner" to tell OpX when to fetch the winning song from Futuri's servers. This command is not necessary for any other automation system.
| Automation System | Music Scheduler | How to create |
|---|---|---|
| OpX | Stratus | Create a song element with the title PickWinner and the cut ID FUT08. |
Clock Structure
When building Tether clocks, we recommend making copies of existing clocks first (from the same position in your assignment grid), and then modifying those copies.
Wherever you want the voting to start (typically about 15-20 minutes before the winners play), you'll place the UPickStart. If your station uses NexGen, the UPickStart must be placed fewer than 64 NexGen "elements" from the end of the voting session, so it's a good idea to keep them within about 15 minutes in your music scheduler.
Wherever you want the winning song to play, you'll pre-schedule category positions for the songs you want to pit against each other, and then bookend those positions with the LDR Vote Options Start and LDR Vote Options End.
If your automation system is OpX, you will also need to place your PickWinner element right before the end of the voting session (to tell OpX to end the session). This command is not necessary for any other automation system.
Below are example screenshots:
NexGen with GSelector:
Zetta with GSelector:
SS32 with Stratus:
Additional Notes
A voting session can cross the top of the hour (example: you can have a UPickStart going into the last break of the 5pm hour, and then play the winner at the top of the 6pm hour). Voting sessions CANNOT cross from one day into another, though.
If your voting sessions will cross from one hour to the next, you might have three different clocks:
- A - For the first voting session of the day, you'd have a clock that ONLY has a UPickStart in it (to trigger a session in the next hour)
- B - For the next several hours, you'd have clocks that have the vote options that go with the previous hour's UPickStart, followed by a UPickStart to trigger the next hour's session.
- C - For the last session, you'd have a clock that ONLY has the vote options to wrap up the last session of the day, without a UPickStart (since there'd be no more voting sessions to trigger for the rest of the day).
See below for a screenshot example of that "B" clock, where the voting sessions open at :52 and the winner plays at :10 the next hour:
Programming Ideas
You can have as many songs in the voting session as you'd like, but most stations will have between 2 and 5. These can be from different categories or the same categories. Most gold-based stations will use their deeper categories (sometimes called "lunar" or "oh wow" categories) for at least one of the options in each voting session. Most Top 40 and Country stations will either pit gold categories against each other for a "throwback" feature or pit several songs from their "new" category against each other.
If you want to do a Twofer voting session, where you pick the first song by an artist, and then listeners pick the second (from a selection of 3 songs), you'll need to define your Twofer artists as those with at least 4 songs in the library. Depending on your setup, Futuri VIP Support may be able to help you configure this, and your music scheduling support team can definitely help you to configure your Twofers in a way that will be conducive to Twofer voting sessions.
To hear airchecks of stations using "UPick" voting sessions, click here or check out the Soundcloud player below: