Messaging works with all Soundtrack Players, but is currently not compatible with Sonos.
How to create messages
Upload audio file
- Under ‘Select audio source’, click ‘Upload audio file’.
- Click to upload or drag and drop a file. MP3 or .ogg files are accepted, with a 5MB limit.
- Name your message, then click ‘Save’.
Text to speech
- Under ‘Select audio source’, click ‘Text to speech’.
- Under ‘Specify text to speech’, type the message you would like to create.
- Select your preferred language. We currently offer English, Swedish, German, French and Spanish.
- Choose a male or female voice, as well as the pitch and speed of the message.
- Click ‘Preview’ to test your message.
- Name your message and click ‘Save’.
Paste SSML (Customize your text-to-speech)
SSML is a text encoding system or markup language that allows you to control how the text to speech is created. Introduce a quick break between words or sentences, control how words are pronounced or change the pitch and speed — the choice is yours. You can even add audio files throughout the text.
Directly paste SSML code to preview and create a message.
You can paste this snippet:
<speak>
Here are <say-as interpret-as="characters">SSML</say-as> samples.
I can pause <break time="3s"/>.
Hello!
</speak>
The resulting audio file will sound like:
“Here are S S M L samples. I can pause [audio pauses for 3 seconds]. Hello!”
Add silence before and after a text-to-speech message so the crossfade feature won’t affect the message.
Wrap the entire message with <speak> at the start and </speak> at the end. Use <break time="3s"/> (with any length instead of 3s) anywhere in the message.
Here's an example:
<speak><break time="1s" />This is a sample message with 1s before and after.<break time="1s" /></speak>
Soundtrack uses the SSML provided by Google Cloud.
How to create campaigns
- Under messaging and campaigns click ‘+ new campaign’.
- Name your campaign and click ‘+ add messages’.
- Choose one or multiple messages. Adding multiple messages will result in the random selection of one message to play at the selected time.
- Select the days of the week for the messages to play and if they should play once or multiple times.
Once per day
To play the message once per day, we recommend you select ‘interrupt music playback’ so the message plays at the exact minute specified, otherwise it will be queued to play after the current song ends.
Multiple times per day
To play the messages multiple times per day, select the timespan for when the campaign is active. Also select the frequency. As these messages are often not time-critical, we recommend that you don’t turn on ‘interrupt music playback’ so the message will be queued between songs and won’t interrupt the music.
To schedule messages at a specific minute during an hour, click ‘Hour’ under ‘Frequency’ then select a minute.
5. Click ‘Save’.
6. Set the dates for the campaign. If the end date is left blank, the campaign will run indefinitely.
7. Click ‘+ select zones’ and select the zones where it should play, then click ‘ok’.
8. Click ‘Save’ to set the campaign live.
Common questions
Can I add a wav-audio file?
We accept .mp3 or .ogg files that are under 5MB. You may need to use a file converter to make your file suitable.
How can I delete messages and campaigns?
Edit or delete a message by clicking the dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
To edit or delete a campaign, find the same menu under ‘+ new campaign’.
Emergency Messages
From the website it’s possible to play messages on demand without the need to create a campaign. This is useful for emergency messages or unexpected situations that aren’t scheduled.
1. Upload your message as an Audio file, Text or SSML code.
2. Click the red play button next to the message that should play.
3. Assign it to the desired zone(s) and click ‘Play message’. All selected zones will immediately interrupt the music to play the message. Afterwards the music will resume.