Promoting the Art and Culture of Your Community Globally

By Lori Spencer

 

No matter where you live, something about your community makes it unique. Perhaps your town was once the site of a significant historical event. Maybe a president or famous celebrity hails from your city, or you currently have notable artists in residence. It might be the music, museums, culture, food, or indigenous people who put your hometown on the map. Whatever it is, you may want to tell the world about this special place and encourage people to visit…

Read more: How to Promote the Art & Culture of a Community Globally | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7369606_promote-art-culture-community-globally.html#ixzz1g8swgpn2

 

 

How to Sponsor a Show on Public Radio International (PRI)

By Lori Spencer

 

As commercial radio stations continue to lose listeners to satellite and Internet radio, public radio’s listener base remains strong. Traditionally public radio listeners are very loyal to their local public radio stations; they donate during annual fund drives and patronize the station’s sponsors. They also tend to be college educated and rather affluent. If your business is looking to target the 35-64 age demographic and households making $75K+, public radio is an excellent place to spend your advertising dollar.

Public Radio International (PRI) — not to be confused with National Public Radio, or NPR — is a network that provides programming to local public radio stations. Here’s how to reach PRI’s global network of affiliates through underwriting.

Continues at http://www.ehow.com/how_7476709_advertise-public-radio-international-pri.html

How to Subscribe to XFM Radio

By Lori Spencer

 

XFM is a terrestrial radio station broadcasting at 104.9 FM in the city of London and 97.7 FM in Manchester, England. XFM is available on digital radio throughout the UK and is also broadcast on Sky channel 113 and Virgin Media channel 965. Listeners all over the world can hear XFM anytime on the website, xfm.co.uk.

If you’re an XFM fan, you probably never want to miss an episode of your favorite show. XFM offers free podcasts of most popular programs for download on iTunes.

Read more: How to Subscribe to XFM Radio | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7207457_subscribe-xfm-radio.html#ixzz1gDfsX7hg

How to Start a Talk Radio Broadcast on the Internet

By Lori Spencer

 

Whether you’re already a veteran broadcaster looking to expend your horizons or an expert on a particular subject, hosting an Internet talk radio show can get your message out to millions of potential listeners. As technology continues to evolve, Internet radio will soon be as accessible to listeners as their cell phone or car stereo.

When starting a new talk radio show, you have a choice to make: do you want to spend money to make money? Internet radio networks such as LA Talk Radio, CyberstationUSA, Talk Zone, wsRadio, and The Voice America will, for a fee, put your show before a large listening audience and promote you heavily.

Or if you are just starting out and money is tight, the most popular do-it-yourself talk radio hosting service is Blog Talk Radio. Using BTR, anyone can host a live call-in show using only their telephone and a computer at little to no cost.

 

Read more at http://www.ehow.com/how_7192390_start-talk-radio-broadcast-internet.html

How to Get A Job as a Radio Broadcaster

By Lori Spencer

 

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely already decided on a career in radio broadcasting. Maybe you have a great idea for a unique program, or an encyclopedic knowledge of music. Or maybe people have just always told you what a pleasant and resonant speaking voice you have. Whether you’re young and choosing your major for college or a professional switching careers at mid-life, the radio business brings many rewards to those who strive, although be warned: Unless you’re Howard Stern, the rewards are not often of the financial variety.

Step 1

Utilize every networking resource you can for employment opportunities: your college’s job placement office, your state’s workforce commission job listings, temp agencies, even the local classified ads.

Radio stations are required by law to advertise job openings to the general public, but they usually only hire established on-air talent or people already known to them. If you can befriend someone who works at the station, they might be able to put in a good word for you with the Program Director.

Step 2

Produce a professional demo tape of your show (in industry terms, this is known as an “aircheck”). If you’ve never hosted a radio show before or don’t have access to a recording studio, you can make one at home using your computer and some basic audio recording/editing software.

Keep your aircheck brief and to the point: no more than three minutes and short, punchy breaks. Consider this your “greatest hits”–make it a quick sampler of your best moments.

Step 3

Call program directors for every station in town and ask if they’re hiring. Don’t waste your time emailing or sending airchecks through the mail. These usually wind up in the trash without being heard. Unless the job ad specifically says “No Phone Calls,” then by all means give them a ring. Talking to the program director personally establishes a rapport and gives them a chance to actually hear your golden voice.

Many PDs will be encouraging to new broadcasters and give helpful career advice on how to get started, even if they don’t have any suitable on-air openings for you.

Step 4

Be prepared to settle for less than an on-air position in the beginning of your radio career. Try applying for a receptionist position. Or a sales account rep. Or a promotions intern–anything to get your foot in the door. Then you can start making connections inside the station, learn the ropes of the business and eventually work your way up to an on-air slot.

Step 5

Try to convince the program director to give you a chance on the air at a time when not many people are usually listening: in the overnight hours or on an early weekend morning. Let him/her know that if a DJ should happen to call in sick, you’re always available and willing to fill in at the last minute. This is how many famous disc jockeys (like Wolfman Jack, “Sunshine” Sonny Payne, and Dr. Demento) actually got their start in radio.

Step 6

Develop your show idea into a written business plan and copyright it before you start shopping it around to stations. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous types in this business who might take your show idea as their own and not give you due credit.

Step 7

Bring your own sponsors. If you can find a local, regional, or national business to sponsor your show, a station will be much more likely to put it on the air. This ensures the show will create revenue and the sales staff won’t have to work as hard to sell advertising time.

If you own a small business and can afford radio advertising, be your own sponsor.

Step 8

Persist in knocking on every radio station door in town. If at first you don’t succeed, try again. You never know when an on-air slot might suddenly become available due to format changes and high turnover rates for talent and management in the radio industry.

Step 9

Start an Internet radio show in the meantime while you’re waiting for your big break in terrestrial radio. Not only is web radio a great way to hone your skills and build your audience, it’s also a useful marketing tool for selling your show to radio stations or syndication networks. You can also earn extra income from member subscriptions, pay-per-download shows, and sponsors who advertise on your show’s website.

Step 10

Continue your education by attending night classes at a local broadcasting school or community college. As technology continues to change in audio and radio production, you’ve got to change with the times. Improve your existing skills and learn new trends in audio technology to remain competitive. Most stations are completely programmed by computer these days, so make sure you’re computer-literate and know how to use audio recording/editing software.

Tips

Shop your aircheck to advertising agencies, too. Doing commercial voice-overs is a great way to get some announcing experience under your belt, build up your resume and pick up some extra cash.

Post your aircheck on radio talent portals. There are many on the web and prospective employers do check them. Include your bio, a clear, recent photo and samples demonstrating the range of your voice talents. For example, post samples of commercial voice work, accents, character voices, narration, news, talk radio or various music formats.

The best way to get a job in radio is to befriend someone who works in the industry. Having an experienced mentor who can show you the business is invaluable, and that person can open many doors for you. Ask a local disc jockey if they will let you come to the studio and watch them work, without being intrusive.

Broadcasting schools like Radio Connection offer one-on-one mentor programs with industry professionals; an effective alternative to attending traditional college for four years.

Warnings

Familiarize yourself with FCC rules on obscenity, indecency and profanity, as well as your state’s libel and slander laws. The fastest way to the unemployment line is to blurt out something on-air that could get your station sued or fined by the FCC.

The second fastest way to the unemployment line is failing in the ratings. Getting to the top in radio is hard, but staying on top is even harder. That all-important Arbitron ratings book determines your fate each quarter. Stations routinely fire disc jockeys who slip in the ratings. The loss of ratings might not be the DJ’s fault, but it’s just the nature of the radio business beast.

Key Concepts

• radio broadcasting careers
• radio careers
• disc jockey jobs
• voice over work
• voice talent work
• radio jobs

References

• Dan O’Day: Quick Radio Job Aircheck Do’s and Dont’s [http://danoday.com/blog/2010/03/radio-aircheck-tips/]
• Best Radio Jobs: The Top 5 Things They’ll Be Listening For in your Aircheck [http://www.bestradiojobs.com/p.php?p=InfoPages&file=how-to-make-an-aircheck]
• FCC: Obscenity, Indecency and Profanity [http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip/]
• Personal Experience: 25 Years in the Radio Industry (On-Air/Voice Talent)

Resources (Further Reading)

• The 10 Commandments of Airchecking [http://www.radioairchecks.com/news/tencommandments.html]
• Radio Connection Broadcasting School [http://radioconnection.com]

User Bio

Lori Spencer has written professionally since 1986. She is the author of three nonfiction books, is writing her fourth and provides content for eHow and LIVESTRONG.COM. She also produces and hosts a weekly radio show. Her subjects of expertise include history, media, music, film and the performing arts.

Getting Your Music Played on XM Radio

By Lori Spencer

 

Getting your original music played on the radio takes a lot of perseverance and postage. An unsigned band or new artist without name recognition may have to mail out thousands of CDs before one music director will add their song to a station’s play list. Sadly, most submissions end up in the trash. Terrestrial radio stations are tightly formatted and generally only play music from established artists and major labels – this makes it even harder to get a break.

XM Satellite Radio offers many more channels and varieties of music for listeners to choose from. XM frequently plays music from indie labels and unsigned bands, so your chances of getting heard are much greater…

Read more: How to Submit Your Music for Programming on XM Radio | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6956733_submit-music-programming-xm-radio.html#ixzz1gDp9BYpi

Build Your Own Home Radio Broadcast Studio

By Lori Spencer

 

Less than 20 years ago, doing a live radio show from your home was an expensive and burdensome process. Now the technologyonce reserved for million-dollar broadcast studios has become not only readily available but affordable to home users.

With some smart investing and utilizing good “sound sense,” you can sound like a pro and be on the air within a few days to a few weeks; usually for less than $500…

Read more: How to Make a Radio Broadcasting Room | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6868739_make-radio-broadcasting-room.html#ixzz1gE58H0O3