CSV Track Import

PlayIt Live can import tracks from a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file using the Add New Tracks Wizard. This is useful when migrating track metadata from another playout system, a music scheduling tool, or a spreadsheet.

Before You Start

The CSV importer expects data in a specific format. If you are exporting from another system, you will almost certainly need to convert and reformat the data before it can be imported into PlayIt Live. This requires some manual effort and familiarity with spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

In particular, all duration and cue point values must be in decimal seconds. Formats like 3:45 or 0:08.5 are not accepted because they are ambiguous (they could represent minutes:seconds or hours:minutes). You will need to convert these values yourself before importing. See Value Formats below for details.

The best approach is to export a few tracks from PlayIt Live first using the CSV export in Manage Tracks. This gives you a template showing the exact column names and value formats that the importer expects.

Creating a CSV File

The CSV file must have a header row with column names, followed by one row per track. You can create the file in any spreadsheet application and export it as CSV, or write it in a text editor.

Minimal Example

At minimum, each track needs a file path and a duration:

Path,Artist,Title,Duration
C:\Music\Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine.mp3,Katrina and the Waves,Walking on Sunshine,239
C:\Music\Journey - Don't Stop Believin'.mp3,Journey,Don't Stop Believin',250.5
C:\Music\Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody.mp3,Queen,Bohemian Rhapsody,354

Full Example

A more complete CSV file with timing and metadata columns:

Path,Artist,Title,Duration,Intro,Cue In,Cue Out,Genre,Year,Type
C:\Music\Walking on Sunshine.mp3,Katrina and the Waves,Walking on Sunshine,239,8.5,0,228,Pop,1985,Song
C:\Music\Bohemian Rhapsody.mp3,Queen,Bohemian Rhapsody,354,15,0,340,Rock,1975,Song

Value Formats

Every column has a specific value format. Using the wrong format will cause the row to be skipped during import.

Decimal Seconds

All duration and cue point columns must be in decimal seconds using a dot (.) as the decimal separator.

Correct	Incorrect
`239`	`3:59`
`8.5`	`0:08.5`
`228.75`	`3:48.75`
`0`	`0:00`

If your source data uses minutes:seconds format, you will need to convert it. In a spreadsheet, you can use a formula such as =MINUTE(A1)*60+SECOND(A1) to convert a time value in cell A1 to total seconds.

Text

Text values (Artist, Title, Album, etc.) are plain strings. If a value contains a comma, the entire value must be enclosed in double quotes in the CSV file. Most spreadsheet applications handle this automatically when exporting to CSV.

Boolean

Boolean columns (No Fade, Sweeper, Disabled, Ignore Validity Year?, Gain Set Manually?) accept true or false (case-insensitive). If the column is missing or empty, the value defaults to false.

Date

Date columns (Valid From, Expires) accept standard date formats such as 2026-01-15. The time portion is ignored.

Decimal

Decimal columns (Gain DB, Loudness Target LUFS, Tempo Adjust Percentage) use a dot (.) as the decimal separator. For example, -3.5 for a gain reduction of 3.5 dB.

Column Reference

Required Columns

Only the Path and Duration columns are needed for a valid import. All other columns are optional. If a column is missing from the header, the field is left empty or set to its default value.

Column	Format	Description
Path	Text	The full file path to the audio file on disk. Used for playback and duplicate detection.
Duration or Duration (seconds)	Decimal seconds	The total duration of the track (e.g. `239` or `228.5`).

Track Information

Column	Format	Description
Artist	Text	The artist or performer name.
Title	Text	The track title.
Album	Text	The album name.
Genre	Text	The genre (e.g. Pop, Rock, Jazz).
Year	Text	The release year.
Type	Text	The track type. Must be one of the type identifiers listed below, or left empty.
Tags	Text	Semicolon-separated tags (e.g. `upbeat;classic;80s`).
Comments	Text	Free-text comments about the track.
Out Cue	Text	The out cue text (e.g. "and don't it feel good!").
ISRC	Text	The International Standard Recording Code.
Record Label	Text	The record label name.
Track ID	Text	A custom track identifier.

Track Type Values

The Type column must use one of the following values exactly as shown below.

Value	Description
`Song`	A music track.
`Station ID`	A station identification jingle.
`Promo`	A promotional announcement.
`Commercial`	A commercial or advert.
`News`	A news bulletin or clip.
`Bed`	A background music bed.
`Station ID + Bed`	A combined station ID with a background bed.

If the Type column is left empty, the type will be inferred automatically.

Cue Points and Timing

Column	Format	Default	Description
Intro	Decimal seconds	Not set	The intro duration. The point at which vocals or the main content begins.
Cue In	Decimal seconds	0	The cue in point. Playback starts from this point.
Cue Out	Decimal seconds	Same as Duration	The cue out point. The next track begins at this point.
Early Out	Decimal seconds	Not set	The early out point. Used to play a sweeper early.
Hook Start	Decimal seconds	Not set	The start of the track's hook section.
Hook End	Decimal seconds	Not set	The end of the track's hook section.

Playback Control

Column	Format	Default	Description
No Fade	Boolean	false	Set to `true` to disable the fade-out at the cue out point of the track.
Sweeper	Boolean	false	Set to `true` to mark the track as a sweeper and allow it to play over other tracks.
Disabled	Boolean	false	Set to `true` to disable the track from being scheduled.
Valid From	Date	Not set	The date at midnight from which the track becomes available (e.g. `2026-01-15`).
Expires	Date	Not set	The date at midnight after which the track is no longer available (e.g. `2026-02-15`).
Ignore Validity Year?	Boolean	false	Set to `true` to ignore the year part of Valid From and Expires so the track recurs every year between those dates. Only takes effect when both Valid From and Expires are set.

Audio Processing

Column	Format	Default	Description
Gain DB	Decimal	Not set	Audio gain adjustment in decibels (e.g. `-3.5`).
Gain Set Manually?	Boolean	false	Set to `true` if the gain value was manually configured rather than auto-detected by Loudness Analysis.
Loudness Target LUFS	Decimal	Not set	The loudness normalisation target in LUFS stored by the Loudness Analysis feature.
Tempo Adjust Percentage	Decimal	Not set	Percentage adjustment to the playback tempo.

Scheduling

Column	Format	Description
Dayparting	Text	Controls when the track is allowed to play. The value starts with `Y` (enabled) or `N` (disabled), followed by semicolon-separated day and hour pairs using the format `DayCode\|Hour`. Day codes are `Mo`, `Tu`, `We`, `Th`, `Fr`, `Sa`, `Su`. Hours are 0 to 23. For example, `Y;Mo\|09;Mo\|10;Fr\|14` enables the track on Mondays at 9am and 10am, and Fridays at 2pm.

Error Handling

If a row contains a malformed value (e.g. text in a numeric column), that row is skipped and the error is logged. The rest of the import continues.
Columns can appear in any order in the CSV file.
Extra columns not recognised by PlayIt Live are ignored.
If a value contains a comma, enclose it in double quotes (e.g. "Earth, Wind & Fire").