Discover how to send the now-playing data from your Spinitron playlist management system, to all sorts of different third party systems – such as your RDS Encoder, Digital Radio, Websites, Streaming Servers, and more.

Spinitron is used by over 300 non-commercial radio stations to manage their playlists. They provide an online interface to update your playlist and display it on your website. This data can be sent to RDS, Digital Radio, and many other broadcast systems.

To achieve this, we’re going to use MetaRadio. MetaRadio is software which acts as a connector for your radio station’s metadata. It enables you to send your now playing data to dozens of different systems, and also unlocks new opportunities for revenue and promotions by inserting commercial and non-commercial messages between your song data. While Spinitron can send data to some of these third party broadcast systems directly, MetaRadio aims to connect all your systems together and provide advanced features.

MetaRadio takes all the hard work out of connecting your metadata. There’s no need for custom scripting – MetaRadio does everything you need out of the box.

Sending song now-playing information to other broadcast systems has clear advantages for your listeners and also your station. Now Playing data enhances the listener experience by allowing them to discover new tracks, increases a station’s website traffic, and unlocks additional advertising opportunities.

Spinitron can be connected in two different ways in MetaRadio:

  • Spinitron Input – this allows you to take the live song data from Spinitron, and send it to third-party systems such as your RDS Encoder & Digital Radio systems.
  • Spinitron Output – this allows you to take the data from another system such as your automation system, and send it to Spinitron.

This article focuses on the Spinitron Input setup, and assumes you already use Spinitron and have live song data in it.

Installing MetaRadio

Before we can connect Spinitron, we need to download and install MetaRadio.

MetaRadio has a free trial available. You’ll need to tell us your name, email, and number of inputs you want to use. MetaRadio is licensed based on inputs:

  • If you have one Spinitron station system with one channel, you only need one license – no matter how many places you want to send that data.
  • If you have two data feeds from your Spinitron system (such as a separate HD2 station), you’ll need two licenses.
  • If you want to take data from an automation system, satellite system, or music fingerprinting system at different times of the day, you’ll also need multiple licenses.

When you sign up for the trial, we’ll email you a license key and an installer. Save these to your computer.

Where to install MetaRadio?

The next step is to work out where you want to install MetaRadio. MetaRadio runs on Windows. While MetaRadio can be installed on any PC, we suggest using a separate Utility PC in your rack room, or even a Virtual Machine.

Make sure you pick a computer that’s:

  • Always turned on and always connected to your network, and
  • Has HTTPS access to Spinitron, and
  • Has a network connection to your output systems too, such as your FM RDS encoder, HD Radio exciter, DAB or DAB+ headend system, and so on.

Completing the Installation

Once you’ve decided where to install MetaRadio, copy both the installer and license file over to that PC. Log in as an Administrator, and then run the installer.

The first step of the installation wizard is to supply the License File. Once you’ve done this, you can accept all the other default settings, and complete the wizard.

You’ve now installed MetaRadio, and you’re ready to start configuring it!

Running MetaRadio

Open MetaRadio from your desktop shortcut. It will open a black window showing the status, and if this is your first time running MetaRadio, it’ll also open a web browser with the MetaRadio Configuration App. If you don’t see the configuration app, the status window shows you the address you need to go to in your web browser. Any modern web browser, such as Edge, Firefox or Chrome, will work fine.

By default, the MetaRadio configuration app is available by going to http://127.0.0.1:9606/

MetaRadio’s configuration interface lets you control all settings within MetaRadio.

  • The left contains the menu with various options – including the Input and Output settings.
  • The centre of the screen contains information about your system, including license details, and a summary of the inputs and outputs you have setup.

The options you see available will vary depending on the version you have installed, and the license options you have installed.

Configuring MetaRadio

Now that we’ve installed MetaRadio, we can connect it to Spinitron.

MetaRadio allows you to send data from an Input (such as Spinitron), to any number of outputs. We need to configure the inputs first, and then our outputs second.

Select the “inputs” menu item on the left, and click “Add New System”. Scroll down through the list of systems and select “Spinitron”.

Enter a name for you station, and then enter your Spinitron API key. This can be found in our Spinitron Dashboard – Admin > Automation & API > Control Panel.

Click Save, and then click “Apply & Restart” up the top to restart MetaRadio.

Testing Your Now Playing Data

If your configuration is successful, the black MetaRadio window will say “Now Playing” with some track details every time a new track plays in Spinitron.

This means your configuration is done, and you can now move onto configuring your Outputs. An Output in MetaRadio is any destination system you want to send data to – a RDS Encoder, HD Radio System, Website, Digital Radio, Streaming Server, Mobile App, etc.

In the left menu of MetaRadio, click on “Outputs”. Find your station, and click “Add Output”. Now you can select your output system from the list, and configure its settings. Our website has instructions on configuring all the most popular systems, or contact our support team if you need assistance.

Support & Next Steps

Thanks for choosing MetaRadio to manage your now playing song data needs. Make sure you explore all the features, such as Data Rules, input system scheduling, message scheduling, and all of our advanced output options. Please get in touch with us if you ever need assistance!

If you have any trouble with this process or it’s not working, please send the MetaRadio log files through to our support team. We’re here to help! You’ll find the support bundle file in MetaRadio’s dashboard.

FAQs

Can I have multiple Spinitron Stations connect to one MetaRadio instance?

Yes. You can connect unlimited Spinitron stations to the one MetaRadio instance on one PC. Here’s some things to keep in mind:

  • In Spinitron, you need a different API Key per station. This API Key allows you to connect each stations’ unique data to MetaRadio.
  • You will need one MetaRadio license per Spinitron station. You can buy multiple licenses online. If you have purchased licenses separately and need them combined (so they can run one one PC), please email support your purchase receipts and we will make this change for you.

Can I disable Spinitron Now Playing data during certain times?

Yes. This is a common request for stations that take satellite programming during certain hours, or for stations which use Audio Fingerprinting to detect tracks not played via your automation system. MetaRadio allows you to create a schedule for your automation system input. In your Input Settings, look for the “Input Settings” section. Any day/time entries specified here will disable your Spinitron data.