Voice-tracking

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Voice tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the studios of the station when one is not actually present.

Background

In order to describe voice tracking, an explanation of computer automation is in order, as it applies to radio. Songs, commercials, "voice tracks", and other elements of the program (the final product that comes out of your speakers) can all be stored on computer, sometimes as mp3 files. The automation program simply plays each element as required, according to a program log.

Automation on radio is widespread and common. A small staff can operate several radio stations.

One motivation is to provide smaller-market radio stations with a polished, "big-city" sound. Using experienced professional disc jockeys who aren't prone to making the mistakes that younger or lower-quality talent would has become quite simple with this technology.

Occasionally, high-quality professional DJs may be available in a market, but in very limited numbers. If a small broadcasting company owns several stations in a market where the talent pool is shallow, it may use one or two DJs for several shifts on several different stations that it owns rather than spend its time searching for a full airstaff. In this case, the talent is local, but is not able to be live all the time.

Most small-town stations cannot afford to hire top-quality disc jockeys, but still want suitable airstaff for their programming. Voice tracking is the solution. For a fraction of the price of hiring live talent, the station can get the "talent" they need by purchasing and configuring computer automation, then hiring professional jockeys – often by contracting through a firm – to produce the short periods of speech that are scripted to fit into the station's overall sound. Thus, the small-town station sounds like a larger-market station.

The voice tracks are recorded by the talent, who access the station's computer network, whether it is someone who lives nearby or is located miles away. The "cyber jock" then refers to the station's music log (schedule of songs to be played during his/her shift) and other formatics (elements within his/her shift, such as commercials, newscasts and weather) to record what would normally be said aloud.

In some cases, a "cyber jock" provides voice tracking services for several different stations (and in several formats), sometimes located hundreds of miles away from each other.

Some voice tracking technology is so advanced that the end of one song and the beginning of another can be previewed by the DJ recording the voice tracks, making the recording of the voice actually live, though it is played back at a later time. A good example of this technology is Internet Voice Tracking (IVT) from the radio software industry leader, RCS Inc. At its most basic, having the music list is enough, as the cyber jock can find out how much time is available at the beginning or end of the song for him to talk over, as the station's formatics dictate. After recording the "break", the cyber jock or a technician encodes the song, or changes it into the form that the station needs, and ships it to the station via dedicated computer network, or the Internet.

Technicians or programmers at the station receive the files, then place them in the proper order under the proper file names for the automation to play them. Sometimes this can go wrong, or other errors can occur. If you have ever heard two songs playing over each other, or two people talking over each other for more than a few seconds, it is very likely that the station you were listening to was automated. If a station is staffed by a live person, they can usually locate the error, and turn off the offending noise source quickly. Automated stations only run as well as they are programmed.

When it is done correctly, the average listener cannot tell the difference. When it is done wrong, or an error occurs, it can be startling.

Another form of voice tracking is "Random VTing" or "Generic VTing" This is done by having the voice tracker say various things such as the station's name, various things related to the station, and other stuff but does not mention the song names or what is currently going on. The voice tracks then play in between the songs a few times an hour. Usually a bunch of these are made at once and then sent to the station or loaded into the automation. They then continue to be used for awhile until the DJ makes more to "freshen it up." This isn't done as much as regular voice tracking because it is regarded as an extremely bad practice (defeats all purposes of using teases, points and outros within a clock to keep people listening and increasing the stations average listener TSL) however it is still done in some places.

How voice tracking works

Different radio stations want their DJs to speak at only certain times. What follows is an example.

At example station ZZZZ, the DJs have to follow certain rules. These are called formatics. Armed with the knowledge of these rules, and with the station's music log, the cyber jock can recreate what the finished program should sound like.

DJs have to backsell (or give the title and artist of a song played previously) three songs before playing the commercials at 22 minutes past the hour.
DJs have to read or play a pre-recorded weather forecast at 44 minutes past the hour
DJs have to play the station's legally required identification at 58 minutes past the hour; this is called the "Legal ID" and is required by law from the FCC in the United States. The station is required to give its call letters, such as ZZZZ and then the city the station is licensed in, with nothing else legally allowed to be in between the two, unless it is AM or FM. Thus, our fictional station would be required to state "ZZZZ-FM, New York", at the top of each hour.
DJs are allowed to speak only over the song's instrumental portion at the beginning. (This is the one important to our example)

As an example, consider at the following graphic. Picture it as a tape running through a player from left to right.

As song one begins to fade out the next song begins. In this case, the DJ does not start talking until the second song starts, and he stops at the point that the song's vocals start. This interval is called an intro, ramp, or post. This is the most common method. If the cyber jock knows the song that his voice will be played over, he knows how much time he has until he has to stop talking to avoid talking over the vocals of the song. If he times his speech correctly, he will do just that. DJ's call this "Pegging the Post" or "hitting the post".

If the station employs other methods of doing this, the cyber jock should be familiar with them, and can alter his speech and timing to accommodate them. Cyber jocks can also listen to tapes of other people on the station to get an idea of the overall sound the station is working toward.

Controversy

Voice-tracking is a hotly contested issue within radio circles. Some claim that the sense of locality is lost, especially when a station employs a disc jockey who has never set foot in that station's town (and thus cannot convince listeners that he/she is a resident). Others believe voice-tracking removes a job that can be made by a professional and provides fewer small-market opportunities for younger, beginning disc jockeys to build their skills. A less frequent criticism, but one that has been mentioned, is the perception that some program managers are annoyed by repeated telephone calls requesting certain songs that are not on their current playlist (usually older titles by older artists of that station's format).

Still, supporters of voice-tracking contend that the overall presentation on the air is improved, and changes can be made to formatics or other rules to accommodate these cyber-jocks. They point out that listeners like the sound, that they often cannot tell that there is not a live disc jockey, and/or could care less about the issue.

Currently many smaller markets are voice-tracked to a certain extent. Most overnight (midnight to 6am) shows are voice-tracked; in some cases, so are certain weekend hours and holidays (such as Christmas). In most of these cases, the station is on the air with no one in the building. However, a station manager can often log into the station's main computer system from home (or other remote location) in certain instances, such as if a song track is not working properly.

Another issue is how to alert the public in the event of emergencies. If a warning of some kind (tornadoes, hurricanes, acts of war, blizzards, etc.) is issued by public officials, how will the public be alerted? In these cases, there are other automated systems that can come into play. In these cases, the Emergency Alert System (EAS) can automatically break in to whatever is playing and deliver information to the listener. If the EAS is not activated, then someone is usually responsible for getting the information to the station and deliver on air as soon as possible. Many voice-tracked stations call this arrangement an on-call policy. If the EAS is not activated, then it is usually not a life and death emergency, but may be a breaking news story (such as a major fire or traffic accident that listeners need to be aware of).

Each time a station makes a decision to voice-track, it is possible that someone is losing a job or opportunity. However, proponents also note that voice tracking can save the station money, allowing some of the staff to keep their jobs. Deployment of voice-tracking to date has generally been left as a purely business decision.

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