PD Copilot FAQ
About PD Copilot
What is PD Copilot?
PD Copilot is a music testing platform for radio Program Directors. It turns a station's existing VIP or loyalty database into a permanent local listener community, so the station can test its music library as often as it needs and get rotation recommendations in seconds to a few minutes. PD Copilot is the platform behind Community Music Testing.
What is Community Music Testing?
Community Music Testing is a radio music research method in which a station turns its own listener database into a permanent local panel, calibrates it once, and then tests its music library as often as it needs without recruiting a new sample for each study. See the full explanation at /community-music-testing.
Who built PD Copilot?
PD Copilot was designed and built by Juan Jose "JJ" Ayala, Founder & Architect. JJ has worked in radio since 1987 in programming, content and music research, on-air, production, and sales. He was Content Director and Operations Manager for a three-station cluster in Phoenix, Arizona, and worked in content research, music, and talent from 2003 to 2024.
Who is PD Copilot for?
Program Directors, music directors, and operators at radio stations that have a VIP or loyalty database. It works for single stations and multi-station groups, in English-language and Spanish-language formats.
How it works
How does a station's VIP database become a listener panel?
The station invites members of its VIP or loyalty database to join its listener community and complete a calibration survey. Once calibrated, those listeners become the station's permanent panel. They stay in the community until the Program Director removes them.
What does the calibration survey do?
It captures song ratings and builds behavioral profiles that describe how and why the station's local audience consumes music. Calibration is done once. After that, every test uses the same community.
How are rotation recommendations generated? Is it AI?
No. Recommendations come from a mathematical model, not a language model or an AI system trained on other people's taste. The model combines the community's calibrated profiles with current consumption data from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Shazam. The same inputs always produce the same output, so a Program Director can see and explain why a song moved.
What do the results look like?
Each song gets a Promote, Demote, or Maintain recommendation, written in the station's own rotation categories. For example: "Promote to Heavy," "Demote to Medium," or "Maintain."
How fast are results?
Once the community is calibrated, the Program Director uploads a song list, the platform retrieves the song data, and results come back in seconds to a few minutes.
How many songs can I test, and how often?
Unlimited songs, as often as you want. Testing is not limited to a short list per study: you can test a handful of songs or a library of 3,000-plus songs. Weekly testing is possible. For a community of about 100 respondents, monthly testing is recommended to avoid listener fatigue.
Can I test new songs before adding them?
Yes. You can test your entire catalog plus any new songs you are considering adding to rotation.
Is there an extra cost every time I test?
No. Your community is built once and reused as often as you need, at no extra cost per test. Traditional research charges for a new single-use panel every time.
Do I have to change my music scheduler?
No. You keep your current scheduler. Export your song list from the scheduler and upload it to PD Copilot.
Does PD Copilot make the rotation decisions?
No. The Program Director makes every decision. PD Copilot gives the PD research they can use more often and explain clearly.
Compared with traditional research
How is Community Music Testing different from auditorium tests and online music tests (OMTs)?
A traditional auditorium or online music test recruits a new sample for each study and returns a one-time snapshot of a limited song list. Community Music Testing uses the station's own permanent community, recruited once, and can test any song in the library at any time.
How is it different from callout research?
Callout tests a small number of songs on a recurring schedule using a recruited sample. Community Music Testing can test any song in the library, as often as the format needs, using the station's own calibrated listeners.
Is the panel rented or owned?
Owned. The station owns its community and its listener data. The community is built from the station's own listener database and belongs to the station alone. It is not a vendor's rolling panel shared across clients.
Getting started
What is the 14-day local rotation audit?
It is a free assessment that shows whether Community Music Testing is a good fit for your station. It looks at things like whether the station has a local VIP database and how it has used music research in the past. It is also the station's first step into PD Copilot.
How is PD Copilot priced?
Stations pay for a software license, plus a one-time configuration fee to set up the station's format. If a station changes format, the license continues and a new paid configuration is required. Contact us for pricing.
Is there a free trial or pilot?
PD Copilot does not offer pilots. The free 14-day local rotation audit is the way to start.
Is PD Copilot available for Spanish-language stations?
Yes. PD Copilot works with Spanish-language formats, and information is available in Spanish at /es.
Does it work outside the United States?
Yes. PD Copilot uses streaming and consumption data from around the world, not only the United States, so stations in any market can use Community Music Testing.
Who handles billing and research?
PD Copilot is an independent product. Team Percepto handles billing and runs the research.
How do I get started?
Request a demo or schedule a 14-day local rotation audit at pdcopilot.io.