Support • SportSongs iPhone App

SportSongs User Guide

Welcome to the Rocky River Software support page. This guide explains how to use the SportSongs iPhone app, what each feature does, and some best practices for game day.

1. Overview

SportSongs is a music clip controller designed for youth sports game operations. It lets coaches, parents, and game-day volunteers instantly trigger pre-selected song clips for hype moments, goals, warmups, walk-ups, and between-play entertainment, using either Apple Music or Spotify as your music provider. You can also optionally enable text-to-speech announcer voices (for example, goal announcements) using ElevenLabs if you choose to connect your own ElevenLabs account.

  • Tap tiles to instantly play high-energy clips for goals, intros, warmups, and walk-ups.
  • Customize tile names for your sport (for example: Goal, Intro, Warm Up, Walk-Up, Breaks).
  • Use Apple Music or Spotify songs you already know and love.

2. Music Providers & Requirements

SportSongs supports two music providers. You can switch between them at any time from the Options > Music Provider menu inside the app.

  • Apple Music
    SportSongs uses the Apple Music app on your device. For the best experience, we recommend an active Apple Music subscription, but you can also use songs you own and have downloaded to your device.
  • Spotify
    SportSongs integrates with Spotify using Spotify’s Web API. Playback through SportSongs requires the Spotify app installed and running on your iPhone and an active Spotify Premium subscription.

Each provider keeps its own tile layout and saved playlists, so you can maintain separate setups for Apple Music and Spotify.

3. Getting Started

Step 1 – Install and Open SportSongs

  • Download and install SportSongs on your iPhone from the App Store.
  • Open the app and follow the prompts. If asked, allow access to media and music.

Step 2 – Choose Your Sport

  • SportSongs loads with a default layout on first launch.
  • You can switch between hockey, baseball, and softball anytime from the Options menu.
  • Each sport provides its own optimized tile labels and layout (for example, dedicated Goal and Penalty tiles for hockey).

Step 3 – Select Your Music Provider

  • Go to Options > Music Provider.
  • Choose either Apple Music or Spotify.
  • When switching providers, SportSongs may prompt you to save your current layout so you don’t lose your work.

Step 4 – Confirm Provider Permissions

  • Apple Music: Make sure you are signed into Apple Music on your iPhone, and that SportSongs has permission under Settings > Privacy & Security > Media & Apple Music.
  • Spotify: Make sure the Spotify app is installed and you are logged into a Spotify Premium account. When you first select Spotify as a provider, you will be prompted to authorize SportSongs to connect to Spotify.

Step 5 – Add Music to Your Tiles

You can assign songs to tiles individually, or use Fast Add to quickly fill a layout from a playlist.

4. Assigning Songs to Tiles

Apple Music Tiles

  • Tap the tile’s edit button to open the editor.
  • Search or browse your Apple Music library or the Apple Music catalog (if subscribed).
  • Select a song to assign it to the tile.
  • Optionally, set a custom start time to jump to the best part of the track.
  • Tap Save so the tile remembers your selection and start time.

Spotify Tiles

  • Tap the tile’s edit button to open the Spotify assignment screen.
  • In the Spotify app, copy a track link (Share > Copy Link) and paste it into SportSongs.
  • SportSongs will automatically resolve the track, store its Spotify URI, and fetch album artwork.
  • Spotify playback requires Spotify Premium and the Spotify app installed on the device.

5. Fast Add Playlists

Fast Add lets you quickly fill tiles from premade or custom playlists instead of assigning each song one by one.

Apple Music Fast Add

  • Available when Apple Music is the selected provider.
  • Open Options > Fast Add Playlist.
  • Choose from SportSongs featured playlists (such as hockey or baseball presets), Recently Added, Most Played, or your own playlists.
  • SportSongs auto-fills tiles in a sensible order: key game-moment tiles first (such as Goal and Penalty), then remaining tiles.
  • For the best results, we recommend an active Apple Music subscription so featured playlists and catalog tracks are available.

Spotify Fast Add

  • Available when Spotify is the selected provider.
  • Open Options > Fast Add Playlist.
  • Tap Use SportSongs Playlist to auto-fill tiles from the official SportSongs Spotify playlist.
  • Or paste any Spotify playlist link to fill tiles from your own team or personal playlist.
  • SportSongs will pull track names, URIs, and album artwork for use in the tile grid.
  • Spotify playback through SportSongs requires a Spotify Premium subscription.

6. Using SportSongs on Game Day

  • Tap a tile once to start its clip. Playback should begin instantly.
  • Tap the same tile again to stop playback immediately.
  • Tiles can visually indicate they have been played, helping you avoid repeating the same goal song too often.
  • Use your iPhone volume controls and any connected speakers (Bluetooth, AUX, or PA system) to control loudness.
  • For best reliability, keep your iPhone near your sound system and avoid unnecessary multitasking during games.

7. Saving & Switching Layouts

  • You can save tile layouts as playlists for quick recall.
  • Each music provider maintains its own layouts, so your Apple Music and Spotify setups stay separate.
  • When switching providers, SportSongs will prompt you to save your current layout and restore the last-used layout for the new provider.
  • This makes it easy to maintain different setups for different teams, sports, or venues.

8. Roster Management

SportSongs lets you create and manage player rosters for use with the announcer. Rosters give the announcer real player names and jersey numbers for goals, assists, penalties, and at-bat announcements.

  • Open Options > Roster to create a new roster or edit an existing one.
  • Add players with their jersey number and name.
  • Create multiple rosters (for example, one per team or sport).
  • Rename or delete rosters at any time using swipe actions or the edit controls.
  • The selected roster is used by the announcer when generating goal, assist, penalty, and at-bat announcements.

Rosters are entirely optional — the announcer can be used without one, but adding a roster makes announcements feel more personal and game-ready.

9. SportSongs Pro

SportSongs is free to try with core features available. Upgrading to SportSongs Pro ($1.99/month, auto-renewing) unlocks the full experience:

  • Remove all ads for a clean, distraction-free experience.
  • Faster, smoother overall performance.
  • Unlimited custom tiles and playlists.
  • Fast Add from your own Apple Music playlists.
  • Save multiple game-day setups for different teams, sports, or venues.
  • 100 ElevenLabs AI announcer calls per day (free users get 5 per day).

Subscription pricing and terms are shown on the App Store listing and within the app’s subscription screen. You can cancel at any time through your Apple ID settings.

10. Troubleshooting

  • Songs start from the beginning instead of the selected time:
    Double-check the clip start time in the tile editor and confirm that you tapped Save after making changes. For Apple Music, confirm the track is still available in your library or the catalog.
  • No sound:
    Confirm your volume, silent switch, and any Bluetooth or AUX connections. Make sure you can play songs normally from the Apple Music or Spotify app directly.
  • Songs will not play at all (Apple Music):
    Make sure SportSongs has permission under Settings > Privacy & Security > Media & Apple Music and that your Apple Music subscription (if used) is active.
  • Songs will not play at all (Spotify):
    Confirm you are logged into a Spotify Premium account and that the Spotify app is installed on this device. If playback fails after the device has been idle, reopen the Spotify app, then return to SportSongs and try again.
  • App feels stuck or slow:
    Force-quit SportSongs and reopen it. If needed, restart your iPhone.
  • Tiles moved or out of order:
    If tiles have been rearranged unintentionally, use the Reset option in the Options menu to restore the default layout, or load one of your saved playlists.

11. Frequently Asked Questions

  • Do I need an Apple Music subscription?
    No. You can use songs you have purchased and downloaded to your device without a subscription. However, an Apple Music subscription is recommended if you want to use SportSongs featured playlists and streaming-only tracks.
  • Do I need Spotify Premium?
    Yes. Spotify’s SDK requires a Spotify Premium subscription for playback control through third-party apps like SportSongs, and the Spotify app must be installed on your device.
  • Can I use both Apple Music and Spotify?
    Yes. You can switch providers at any time from the Options menu. Each provider maintains its own saved layouts and playlists.
  • Can multiple people use the same playlist?
    Yes. You can share Apple Music or Spotify playlist links with other coaches or parents. Each person will need their own Apple Music or Spotify account (and subscription, if required) to access the playlist.

12. Announcer Voices

SportSongs includes a built-in announcer that speaks goal calls, assist announcements, penalty calls, and at-bat introductions. There are two voice engines to choose from, selectable inside Announcer Settings:

System Voices (Built-In, Free)

By default, SportSongs uses your device’s built-in text-to-speech voices — no account or API key required.

  • Open Announcer Settings > Announcer Voice to browse and select a voice.
  • Filter voices by your device language or browse all available languages.
  • Tap the preview button next to any voice to hear a sample before selecting it.
  • Enable Hype Mode to give the announcer an excited, energetic tone.
  • Tip: For the most natural sound, download Enhanced voices on your device via Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Voices.

ElevenLabs AI Voices (Optional, Premium)

For professional-quality AI announcer voices, SportSongs can optionally connect to ElevenLabs using your own ElevenLabs account. You stay in full control of your usage and API key.

  • You control your API usage and can monitor it on the ElevenLabs website.
  • Your API key is stored securely on your device using Apple’s Keychain.
  • SportSongs never transmits your API key to our servers.
  • Repeated phrases are cached locally — they do not consume your daily limit.
  • Free users: 5 ElevenLabs announcements per day.
  • Pro users: 100 ElevenLabs announcements per day.
  • When the daily ElevenLabs limit is reached, SportSongs automatically falls back to your selected system voice.

How to Set Up ElevenLabs

Important: SportSongs does not include a built-in ElevenLabs API key. You must create your own free ElevenLabs account.

  1. Visit elevenlabs.io and create a free account.
  2. Go to Profile → API Keys.
  3. Copy your API key.
  4. In SportSongs, go to Announcer Settings → ElevenLabs Configuration and paste your key.
  5. The key is stored securely in your device’s Keychain.

Privacy

  • Your ElevenLabs API key is stored only on your device using iOS Keychain.
  • SportSongs does not have access to your API key.
  • Your announcer scripts are sent directly from your device to ElevenLabs for text-to-speech conversion.
  • We cannot see your scripts or API usage.

13. Contact Support

If you are still having issues or have ideas for new features, we would love to hear from you.

When you email, it helps if you include:

  • Your Apple device and model (for example: iPhone 14, iPad Pro, etc.)
  • Your iOS version (for example: iOS 18.x)
  • Which music provider you were using (Apple Music or Spotify)
  • A short description of what you were doing when the issue happened

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