Diagnosing Red Tracks in Playlist

Section 4.4: Diagnosing Red Tracks in the Playlist

When the NextKast Music Scheduler has to break one or more rules to generate a playlist, the affected tracks will appear with a red background in the Playlist Builder screen. These red tracks indicate where a scheduling conflict occurred.

How to Identify and Diagnose Rule Breaks

1. Viewing Red Tracks:
   • In the Playlist Builder screen, look for tracks with a red background. This highlights rows where a scheduling error or conflict has occurred.
2. Accessing the Rule Broken Report:
   • Double-Click Method: Double-click on the highlighted position in the Playlist Builder to open the Rule Broken report.
   • Log Editor Method: If you are using the Log Editor, right-click on the highlighted track and select the Rule Broken Report option.
3. Understanding the Rule Broken Report:
   • The Rule Broken Report window provides detailed information about the broken rule and when it occurred in the scheduled time.
   • The report includes:
     • Track Path, Title, and Artist: Displays the specific track details.
     • Broken Rules: Lists which rules were broken, such as “Current Tempo,” “Current Gender,” etc.
     • Sub-Filter Fields: Shows whether specific attributes like Tempo, Features, Gender, or Genre passed the scheduling rules.
     • Audience Pleaser Status: Indicates if the Audience Pleaser feature was enabled and whether it passed the scheduling criteria.
     • Artist and Title Separation Times:
       • Artist Separation Time Achieved: Indicates the actual time achieved between plays of the same artist and the set artist separation time.
       • Title Separation Time Achieved: Shows the actual time achieved between plays of the same title and the set title separation time.
4. Adjusting Your Rules:
   • Use the data provided in the Rule Broken Report to refine your scheduling rules and settings. Adjust parameters like tempo, gender, artist, or title separation to minimize future rule breaks and improve the scheduling outcome.

By following these steps, you can effectively diagnose and resolve scheduling conflicts, ensuring a smoother and more balanced playlist creation process.