What is Hook Exchange?
More than just a hook service, Hook Exchange is the portal through which you can join an online community supporting your music research efforts and integrate your music research tools.   Hook Exchange makes it possible to create, share and implement your music research using tools you already employ, such as Selector® and The AnalystTM.  Hook Exchange revolutionizes - and simplifies - your entire music research process!

What does it cost?
Hook Exchange audio hooks cost a buck a hook.  If you do not wish to purchase hooks but employ Hook Exchange as a vehicle to exchange song lists (with researchers, consultants, format managers, etc.) there is no charge to download and use the software.  There is no cost of "subscription."

How do I get started?
Hook Exchange requires you to be a registered user before downloading our software and employing our service.  Go to our Signup page  to fill out and submit the form.  You will promptly be notified via email with authorization to use Hook Exchange.

I just want to see and play the hooks that are available.  How do I do this?
Go to our Samples page to get a sample of our song inventory and hook quality.  If you wish to peruse our entire online database, there is no charge to preview our hooks but because Hook Exchange's desktop application is essential to the process, you will need to register and install the software.  Go to our Signup page to fill out and submit the form.   You will promptly be notified via email with authorization to use Hook Exchange.

How do I use Hook Exchange?
Once you have registered and installed Hook Exchange software, launch the software, provide the user setup info and add one or more stations to your profile.  Then synchronize with the Hook Exchange web service to make sure you have all the latest songs and hooks.  Now you're ready to build your song list! Use our desktop application to manage songs as you cull them from our online database or let Hook Exchange do the work by importing a song list from a CSV file or Selector® Browse list (subscription to Linker® required.)   Once your list is complete you may print it, save it as a PDF file, export it to a TXT or CSV Excel® file, or from within Hook exchange transmit it to a recipient (i.e. consultant or research company) and/or submit it to us for processing.

What is the Hook Exchange online community?
It's everybody you work with! Inside of Hook Exchange you create and manage a Contact List of people you work with and share song list information.  From within Hook Exchange you send and receive song lists to and from these contacts, as you would email.  Because the lists are "exchanged" through our central database, the entire process remains consistent inside Hook Exchange.  One of the biggest challenges we've found in the world of music research is maintaining consistency in song lists. Inside Hook Exchange, whether it's your weekly callout, AMT or any other song list you create, each song is the same every time, every list.

In what ways does Hook Exchange improve upon my current process?
Hook Exchange provides capabilities never previously offered.  Besides providing superior quality hooks, only Hook Exchange allows you to:

• Create a song list from a Selector® browse list - no hunting and pecking through a huge online music library (although you can if you prefer) 
• Import song lists from Excel® or other sources
• Substitute and share your own personally-created song hooks and lists
• Assemble your song list by comparing it to various other lists (i.e. previous tests, consultant-provided lists, Mediabase or BDS charts, etc.)
• Maintain data such as song ID#, artist/title spelling, source/cart and coding info from the beginning of your testing process (Selector®) to the implementation of your scores (AnalystTM).

Is Hook Exchange for callout or AMTs?
Hook Exchange was designed for use across all testing platforms.  Whether you're testing thirty songs every week or eight hundred songs once a year, Hook Exchange will enhance and expedite the way you assemble your tests and implement your research.

What is your turnaround time?
Typically we can deliver your hook project in twenty-four hours or less.

I don't have time to fuss with a computer.  Can I simply give you my Browse list or spreadsheet and have you create my hook tape for me?
Absolutely.  If you don't have time or the need to peruse our online database, we will do the work for you.  There is no cost for this service, songs are still a buck a hook.

In what format will I receive my hook tape?  CD?  Tape?  MP3?
We will deliver your hooks in whatever format you request.  Slating is optional.

How do I pay Hook Exchange for my hook tape?
To submit an order with us you will be required to provide billing information.  All Hook Exchange orders are invoiced, we do not accept credit cards, PayPal or similar online mechanisms.

How do I share my lists?
Once you have finalized your hook list, odds are you'll want to provide it to your research company, consultant, format captain and/or other managers in your group.  Click the Send button in Hook Exchange and your list is delivered, maintaining the common database you all share so that artist and research information is consistent for all users in your music research universe.

How does Hook Exchange work with Selector® and The AnalystTM?
Hook Exchange permits you to initiate the song selection for your hook list from inside Selector®.  By providing a Selector® browse list as your hook list, you not only avoid picking your way through a huge online song database but ensure vital data such as ID#, source/cart and coding info travels with your songs all the way through the end of the testing process, when you can review and implement your results in The AnalystTM.  By integrating these software programs, Hook Exchange closes the cycle between song selection, test analysis and implementation.

Where does your music come from?
We create our libraries from the superior quality music services provided by TM Century.  But in the spirit of building an online community, Hook Exchange allows you to create and post your own hooks and make them publicly available to others, as well as use hooks others have created and made public for you.

What is the audio quality of your hooks?  In what format are they provided?
Our hooks are encoded in a way that maintains the original CD audio quality as much as is possible with the MP3 format: 44 KHz, 16-bit stereo VBR-encoded MP3 files that average 192Kb/second.  Portions may be encoded as high as 320Kb/second, the highest possible encoding rate for the MP3 format, if required to maintain the original clarity.