Music 1, Inc. and UK-based Aiir are taking separate business paths at the end of 2026, concluding a long-running commercial relationship while maintaining the close integration between Music 1 and Aiir’s PlayoutOne radio automation system.
The relationship dates to December 2013, when Aiir founder Dave Brierley-Jones, then operating RadioStationSolutions, approached Music 1 creator Steve Warren about integrating Warren’s Music 1 scheduling software with the company’s DARP/NG radio automation system.
The technical relationship grew, and in 2018 the companies began co-marketing their products, offering Music 1 and the newly named PlayoutOne automation system together. The companies also explored a more extensive partnership that could ultimately have combined the two businesses.
“One of the best times I’ve had in my career was walking the floor at the 2018 NAB Radio Show introducing Dave and his partner Phil Johnson to everybody,” Warren said. “I was telling people how impressed I was with their technology, their automation system, their professionalism and customer service.”
Active co-marketing of the products wound down in 2024 as the two companies began moving in different business directions, although their subscription and product relationship continued.
That same year, Warren and his new development partners formed MusicOne Global Ltd. and began re-imagining and engineering Warren’s music-scheduling architecture, algorithms and concepts for a new generation of software. MusicOne Cloud was released in April 2026.
Aiir has also now introduced its own cloud-based music scheduler. With both companies moving forward with their own scheduling platforms, they will conclude their remaining cross-billing and subscription arrangements at the end of 2026. Each company will then manage subscriptions for its own products directly.
For customers, however, there will be no disruption of service. Music 1 Pro will continue to integrate with PlayoutOne, and the existing data and playlist exchange between the systems will remain in place. Stations that are happy using Music 1 with PlayoutOne can continue using the two products together.
“What is changing is the business arrangement behind our products—not the compatibility our customers depend upon,” Warren said. “Dave and I have enjoyed a long, productive and pleasurable relationship. Now Aiir has developed its own scheduler and we’ve taken Music 1 into a new generation with MusicOne Cloud. It’s a natural time for both companies to move forward independently.”
