Getting into radio: “Make stuff!”
By Sam Coley
A University Degree is not going to get you a job in broadcasting. Sorry to be so blunt - but there’s the reality. And while I’m at it - you can’t just click a button to gain easy access into the industry. So if you think that looking at a couple of websites and sending a few emails is going to bust you through the gates of radio – you’re mistaken.
I’ll spare you having to read through this entire post to get to my main point. Which is – make stuff. It’s that simple.
By constantly making radio you will by default get better and possibly even attract attention, stumble across genius, make contacts and force the fickle hand of fate.
A radio course is certainly not a bad place to start. These days a degree is almost an employer’s expectation so it’s definitely not a waste of time. By the way, you’ll find some excellent tips and advice on University life via Andrew Dubber’s website. He’d certainly value your input, so feel free to post a comment or two.
As I was saying… a degree’s a very useful tool. You’ll get to learn the craft of radio in both a theoretical and practical sense. You’ll also learn how to rite reel good – not to mention the valuable discipline of managing your own time to meet deadlines. Read the brochure to find out more,
I did a 12 week course at my local polytechnic back in 1988. Them were the days. Before that I’d only really imagined DJ’s working at a station. Episodes of the radio sitcom “WKRP” (well worth checking out) gave me a vague idea that other people might be involved – but the DJ’s were the face of the product. They were the guys you actually listened to. So I entered the course aiming to become a “jock”. I quickly became aware of the multitudes of other roles behind the scene and ended up choosing a career writing copy and producing radio. My point is this, a radio course can also be valuable in helping you decide what aspect of the industry you most enjoy as well as what you’re most suited to. (I was a crap presenter).
To use radio vernacular you’ve got to understand your target audience. Keep in mind that the guys doing to hiring and firing are super busy. These guys are flat out keeping their necks above water in stormy times. Try to think like them and produce material that’s snappy, professional and most important of all short and to the point. Make it easy for them.
Remember – they are paid to secure talent. So it’s in their job description to keep their ears and ears out for the next big thing – or the next over-night studio operator. Find out exactly who it is you need to reach and always follow up any correspondence with a phone call. Be persistent – but don’t be a pest. This is a fine line that you should be prepared to overstep from time to time.
You’re only as good as your showreel / demo tape / audio portfolio (?) so make it as mind-blowing as you possibly can. It must be no longer than 2 ½ minutes in length – just over 3 minutes tops. Keep it tight and keep them wanting more. Always start with your strongest punch, but keep in mind you wont always be the best judge of this. That’s why it can be helpful to play your audio to someone whose opinion your respect first. Hopefully they’ll offer you some advice and give you an idea of what’s your best material. Don’t get all shy and retiring about this. You want to work in radio don’t you? The whole point is to get your stuff out there – and heard by other people.
In Howard Stern’s movie “Private Parts” my favourite bit is when he’s working at a college radio station. Although it wasn’t until he started working on actual commercial stations that he began to improve – it was on a student station that he started out on the path to his million dollar radio empire. Use the opportunity to present on small community stations and try to enjoy it. You probably won’t get another chance to screw-up as badly as you can on small stations or hospital radio. Just get your foot in the door…
I remember during a Documentary Production class at Birmingham City University, a BBC radio producer asked the students “Who wants to be a radio documentary producer?”. A few tentative hands went up around B312. He then asked “Who is a radio documentary producer?” And there’s the heart of it. No one can bestow a title on you – you have to decide for yourself what it is you want to do. So think carefully about your best radio attributes – and then set off on your chosen career path anyway.
Don’t talk about it. Start producing your own work and keep doing it. You will get ridiculously better in a surprisingly short length of time. The good news is – the technology to record and edit your own documentaries / radio shows / commercials / imaging etc has never been cheaper or better. For a relatively small amount of money you can purchase everything you’ll need to produce award winning radio. This means the deciding factors in your quest for fame and fortune are the ideas in your head and your ability to present them. This is both a fantastic and terrible thing.
Deal with it – and start putting your ideas into practice. Make use of websites like PRX.org, produce podcasts and 365live.com etc. etc. to distribute your brilliance – then start shopping your work around by attaching links. By the way, if you’re not internet savvy about uploading audio and creating websites – make friends with someone who is.
…Of course, you don’t have to have a degree in the first place. Sheer talent and perseverance have worked for some of the world’s best. So if you can’t afford the spiralling costs of academia – just start doing whatever it is you want to do on a shoestring. Because, like I’ve already said - the key is to make stuff…
