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Every great show starts with a great idea right? So you have your idea and want to be on the radio, but how do you get started? Lots of questions there. Well you could run your own station like I do and then you can have as many shows as you want on it. But for most people it’s their passion to produce a great show and have it played on air to one or more stations, stations that are owned and run by others. Here’s a few pointers below to get you up and running.
You start with an idea. You must be passionate about your show, if you love 60s music that could be an obvious choice. If you like 80s New Wave then that could be for you. The point is, if you are passionate about a niche or genre, it goes without saying that you will be knowledgeable about it and your enthusiasm will be heard through the radio. It’s not just music shows either, the same applies to news and current affairs, if you are interested in politics then that would be a great place to start. Follow your passion and your gut for what feels right to you, that is a sure fire way to success.
So you have your show all planned out in your head, you can almost hear it on the airwaves but what’s the next step? You need a studio full of expensive recording equipment, computers, mics, software etc. right? The list goes on. It’s true, you can’t produce a show without a certain level of equipment. As a minimum you will need a reasonably powerful desktop computer or laptop, a microphone and some recording software. There’s a million YouTube videos you can watch that do a far better job than I can in this blog, that explain what gear you need to get started.
The answer to that is no but you do need somewhere quiet with good acoustics to record in. Technology has advanced so much now that it’s perfectly OK to record at home in a room of your choice. A great example of this is Boom radio, all their live shows are broadcast from the presenters home but you wouldn’t know it. Your show will almost certainly be pre-recorded which makes it even easier for you.
Another easy answer, no you don’t. Many presenters use Audacity which is free to download and use. It’s extremely powerful software hidden behind a 1980s interface! If you are just starting out try that. I use Reaper for my shows, it’s great value and in my view is comparable to any of the high end DAWs (digital audio workstation). Remember you are not recording Adele or Ed Sheran, you don’t need 100 tracks to record on. It depends how you record also, you may need just one track if you record your whole show live as you go. The music, beds, jingles and chat will all be on the same track. Personally I piece my show together, a track for my chat, a track for the music, a track for jingles, a track for music beds and a track for effects. That’s it.
No those days are gone where everyone sounded like Trevor Howard in Brief Encounter. Haven’t seen that? It’s one of the greats. It’s true that some people have what I consider to be a great radio voice. I do find myself saying ‘I wish I had a voice like that’, but I don’t so I work with what I have. Use your voice to your advantage, it’s what helps set you apart and stand out. Embrace your voice, regional accents are all the rage these days. It’s all about equality and diversity on the airwaves which is great news for us. A very important point to mention here is remember you are talking to one person. Never say hello guys, folks or friends, have you had a good week, It’s have you had a good week? Hopefully there are a lot of listeners, but you are not talking to them as a collective but as an individual. Oh and while I think of it, always end your show with the same energy as you started.
P.S. RP-Received Pronunciation
The best thing you can do to familiarise yourself with your equipment, studio, recording software and your voice is to record a pilot show. I mentioned voice there because it can take some getting used to, listening and hearing yourself recorded. A proof of concept/pilot show is the best way to hear as a listener what your show idea sounds like. It’s at this point where you can fine tune your production and presentation skills. Listen to the flow of the show, do the jingles and beds work, are any features in the wrong place etc.
When you get to the point that you are really happy with the format of your show, save it as a template. Before you do, remove your voice and any chat from guests etc. leaving the jingles and beds. When you come to record the next show, just open up the template and you are ready to go with a lot of the show already in roughly the right position and correct levels. You can use markers also for reference points in your show.
Over time you will establish a workflow that works well for you, and the production of each show will get faster.
What’s he on about, I know! This is worth its weight in gold. You can thank me later. If you are recording a show where you piece it together as described above, get yourself a dog training clicker (I use this one) there are loads out there and are cheap as chips. Let me explain, this is what will happen to you, you hit the record button and attempt to say ‘hi and welcome to this week’s show’ and you mess up. When you mess up, click the dog clicker, when you do that it puts a spike in the waveform so you can easily see where you went wrong and makes editing so much easier. Keep it in your hand for the duration of recording your show, use it throughout and you will know exactly where the mistakes are in post.
And I’m not talking about the John Lennon song either! I’ve got a whole blog post on imaging you can read here. It’s key to you producing a professional show suitable for syndication.
It will take a while to get a quality finished product ready for the world to hear. Don’t be afraid to get feedback and act on it either and not just from family members who will love it whatever.
Remember once a station takes your show, you have to commit to sending it to them every week. It’s not an option if you don’t fancy it one week so you don’t produce it. Sometimes you will have to record 2 to cover holidays or sickness. Always have one spare if possible in case you can’t record for one week. Don’t be afraid to get feedback and act on it either and not just from family members who will love it whatever.
I hope the above helps, all tips from personal experience. Please reach out if you need any further help. Good luck and please make contact if you feel you are a good fit for this station. Neil
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