The A-Z of building music show
A Audio Use it during your show. The best radio shows you hear these days are the ones where the On Air talent has sourced audio to enhance his/ her product. Interview grabs, Breakfast Best Bits, Home recorded audio (For personal stories) all go along way to make your product stand out!
B Branding Make sure that everything you do on the air is on the brand with the station. Example: If your radio station is 35+ female audience you wouldn’t be talking about show and shine that’s happening locally.
C Content You must be producing content during your show and not just playing people’s favorite hits. From selling the Breakfast show to talking about what is happening in your local community building content is your business!
D Direction It’s so important to know the direction your show is heading in. You don’t start on a road trip without mapping out how you are going to get to the destination. Your radio show should be No different!
E Effort A good consistent show on the radio is going to take effort! Every time you open that microphone make sure that you have exhausted all avenues to make that particular piece of content the very best it can be. Have you surfed the phones, have you looked for audio that is going to enhance your break.
F Form guide Make sure that you know what is happening around the structure of your show. Make sure that you are not talking about the breakfast show into a breakfast show Promo
G Guidance and Feed Back is essential to you craft. Every good AFL player has a line coach that provides feedback for improvement and growth on the players performance. Radio is the same, you want to make sure that the product that you are putting to air every day is elite. Have someone guide you in the process will help
H Hooking – I’m not just talking about a Laundry list of songs! You got to get creative with this. If I don’t like the next 3 songs you have lined up then I’m not going to hang around. Unless of course you give me a reason to stick with you!
I Information is what you audience wants! From a broken down truck on the Freeway to the latest developing news that is breaking. It’s your responsibility to deliver that information in the best way possible.
J Join or subscribe to websites and resources that are going to assist with your daily show’s preparation.
K Keep Everything Do yourself a favor an invest in a portable hard drive – You are going to need it! There are certain thing that you do over the journey of your career that you are going to want to hang onto. There are a few reasons for this: You never know when you might re-use the audio later. The other reason is to include some of the really great stuff you do on your air check/ Demo
L Listeners are everything to both your radio station and your show, get them on the air and make them feel apart of the show
M Music Make sure that you are familiar with all music you have coming up in your shift there is nothing worse than talent saying an artist’s name incorrectly. You lose credibility with your audience if you don’t know the name of their favorite artist.
N Net Working Creating a great network for yourself is only going to set you up for success later down the track. Invest in a black book and start to fill it from show number one.
O One thought per break/link It’s a rule in radio that has been around for a while and it makes so much sense. You don’t want to give your listener too much to concentrate on at the same time. Pick your topic you are going to focus on and spend time on creating a creative content filled angle.
P Phones are your friend. Use the phone to add value to your show. Whether you are talking to listeners about traffic conditions, discussing a talk topic or interviewing someone adding that extra voice to your show will give the show contrast.
Q Quick thinking You really must be on your toes when in the middle of a music shift. If something happens be prepared to step away from your direction of the show and make some content on the fly. I remember one day I took a phone call from a young lady who wanted to win $2,000 – Needless to say I had a little bit of fun with her.
R Research your music you have coming up in your show. You are going to get believed if you sound like you know what your talking about.
S Sense of the Day – You need to make sure what you are doing on the air sounds relevant. What are people talking about today around the water cooler? You need to be doing the same.
T Think outside the box! Stretch yourself when you are thinking about content. One of my favorite sayings is “Don’t ask for permission, beg for forgiveness”. If you come up with an idea then take the chance and back yourself! If it falls flat then at least you have had a crack, on the other hand if you pull it off – You’re a genius!
U Use all resources that are available. You tube, Face book, Twitter, Instagram, Source bottle, news.com there are so many resources now available on line to help your with Show Preparation.
V Voice Tracking If you are going to Voice Track (For the weekend ahead or a holiday broadcast) Don’t see it as an opportunity to “Rip and Read”. The effort you would put into a live shift is the same effort you should be putting into a Pre-Recorded show.
W Waffle is a dessert, not a radio talk break. Waffle is something that kills momentum so make sure your breaks stay on track and keep the intended direction.
X X Factor That’s you! last thing you want to be doing is sounding like every other announcer in the radio landscape. What are you doing differently? What is going to make you stand out?
Y You tube is one of my favorite resources to use when doing a music shift you never know what you are going to find to enhance your break.
Z Zone That’s the studio! Your area when you are on the air, it’s a place that needs to be protected. Over the years I have had all sorts of people walk into the studio while I’ve been in the middle of a show and I’m here to tell you there is nothing more annoying! Don’t be afraid to own your zone and tell unwanted guests that they are not Welcome in there when you are on the air.
