SA Tag Manager Lite – Station Admin

Version 1.1 — Station Admin

SA Tag Manager Lite is a free WordPress plugin that connects directly to your SAM Broadcaster or PlayoutONE database and lets you tag songs from your WordPress admin panel. One-click buttons assign genre, decade, and rotation weight to whichever song played most recently. No SQL knowledge required.

Requirements

WordPress 5.6 or later
PHP 8.0 or later
SAM Broadcaster users: MySQL or MariaDB accessible from your WordPress host, PHP pdo_mysql extension (standard on most hosts)
PlayoutONE users: SQL Server accessible from your WordPress host, PHP pdo_sqlsrv extension installed on the server

Quick Setup

Download the plugin zip and install it via WordPress Admin → Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
Activate the plugin. A new SA Tag Manager menu item appears in the left sidebar.
Go to SA Tag Manager → Settings and choose your database type: SAM Broadcaster or PlayoutONE.
Enter your database connection details and click Test Connection.
Save settings. The plugin connects on the next page load and (for SAM Broadcaster) automatically adds the decade column if it does not exist.

Connecting to SAM Broadcaster

SA Tag Manager Lite connects directly to the SAM Broadcaster MySQL database using PHP PDO. You need the same credentials SAM uses to connect to its own database.

Field	Where to find it
Host	Usually `localhost`. If SAM is on a different machine, use its IP address.
Port	Default MySQL port is `3306`.
Database name	Open SAM Broadcaster → Database Setup. The database name is listed there.
Username / Password	Same Database Setup screen in SAM.
Table	Default is `songlist`. Only change this if you use a custom table name.

Decade column: On the first successful connection, the plugin checks whether a decade column exists in your songlist table. If it does not, it adds one automatically. No manual SQL needed.

Connecting to PlayoutONE

PlayoutONE uses SQL Server. The plugin connects via PHP's pdo_sqlsrv extension, which must be installed on your WordPress server.

Field	Notes
Host	Use `localhostp1sqlexpress` for a local named instance, or an IP address for remote.
Port	Leave blank to use SQL Server Browser auto-discovery. Set a specific port for remote / firewall-restricted connections.
Database name	Default PlayoutONE database is usually `PlayoutONE`.
Username / Password	SQL Server login credentials.

Auto port discovery: When you use a named instance (e.g. localhostp1sqlexpress) without specifying a port, the plugin queries SQL Server Browser on UDP port 1434 to discover the instance's dynamic TCP port automatically. Click Discover Port in Settings to test this without saving.

Remote / firewall connections: If UDP 1434 is blocked, enter the static TCP port manually. The plugin will then connect directly to host,port without querying the Browser service.

Using the Editor

The editor (SA Tag Manager → Editor) always loads the most recently played song from your database. Album art, title, and artist display automatically if the data is present.

Genre (SAM) / Alt Category (PlayoutONE)

Click any genre button to assign it instantly. The current value is highlighted. For PlayoutONE, buttons are loaded from your live Category table — any category you have in PlayoutONE appears here. Use the text field to assign a custom genre or add a new PlayoutONE category on the fly. For PlayoutONE, drag the highlighted Alt Category chip to the trash barrel to clear it.

Weight (SAM Broadcaster only)

Rotation weight controls how often SAM schedules the song. Buttons run from 10 to 100 in steps of ten, plus a No Rotation button that sets weight to 0. SAM's rating field is updated automatically alongside weight (rating = weight ÷ 10).

Decade (SAM Broadcaster only)

Decade buttons cover the 50s through 20s. Values are stored as two-digit strings (50, 60, … 20) in the decade column. This column is added automatically on first connection.

Comments

Saves to the info field in SAM Broadcaster or the Notes field in PlayoutONE. Click Read Comments to view existing notes or Add Comments to write new ones. Changes save on submission.

Lyrics (SAM Broadcaster only)

Saves to the lyrics field in the SAM songlist table. An AZLyrics button opens AZLyrics in a new tab pre-searched for the current artist and title, so you can copy and paste quickly. Lyrics are not available in PlayoutONE mode.

Now Playing Shortcode

Add [satm_now_playing] to any WordPress page or post to display the current song to your visitors. The shortcode reads the most recently played song from your database and renders artist, title, genre, decade, and album art.

The shortcode also exposes a public AJAX endpoint (wp_ajax_nopriv_satm_get_public) that returns song data as JSON, so you can build your own Now Playing widget using JavaScript if needed.

Auto-Updates

SA Tag Manager Lite checks for updates through the standard WordPress update mechanism. When a new version is released on Station Admin, WordPress will notify you in Dashboard → Updates exactly as it does for any plugin from the WordPress.org repository. You do not need to manually download and reinstall.

FAQ

Will the plugin modify my SAM Broadcaster database?

Only in two ways: it adds a decade column to your songlist table on first connection (if it does not already exist), and it updates whichever fields you change in the editor. It never deletes songs or modifies data you did not explicitly ask it to change.

Can I use this with a remote SAM Broadcaster database?

Yes, as long as your WordPress host can reach the MySQL port on the SAM machine. Enter the SAM machine's IP address as the host. You may need to allow the WordPress server's IP in your MySQL user permissions and firewall.

Do I need pdo_sqlsrv on my shared host?

Only for PlayoutONE mode. SAM Broadcaster mode uses pdo_mysql, which is available on virtually every PHP host. If your host does not have pdo_sqlsrv, contact your host or consider a VPS. The Settings page will show a clear error if the extension is missing when you test the connection.

What happens if the database is unreachable?

The editor shows an error notice. No changes are made. The rest of your WordPress site continues to work normally.

What is the difference between Lite and the full version?

SA Tag Manager Lite shows the most recently played song and lets you update it. The full version adds a searchable song browser, bulk tagging, and additional fields. The full version is coming to Station Admin.

Support

For help, questions, or bug reports, visit stationadmin.com. Include your PHP version, WordPress version, and which database type (SAM Broadcaster or PlayoutONE) you are using.