Voice tracking

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

Strictly speaking, voice-tracking refers to the process of a disc jockey prerecording his or her on-air "patter." It is then combined with songs, commercials, and other elements in order to produce a product that sounds like a live air shift. Voice-tracking has become common on many music radio stations, particularly during evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday time periods. It is seen by most radio station owners as an economical alternative to employing live disc jockeys around the clock.

The process goes back decades and was very common on FM stations in the 1970s. At the time, elements were recorded on reel-to-reel magnetic tapes and broadcast cartridges and played by specialized professional audio equipment. It has become more controversial recently as computer technology permits the process to be more flexible and cheaper, allowing for fewer station employees and an effective illusion of live, local programming.

Most contemporary broadcast automation systems at music stations effectively function as high-tech jukeboxes. Pieces of audio are digitized as computer files and saved on one or more hard drives. Station personnel create "program logs" which list exactly what is supposed to be on the air and in what order. The computer follows the instructions set out in the playlist.

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