The industry advice keeps rolling in!
Craig Bruce has proved a hit with his 25 radio tips on Twitter, and now one half of triple j Breakfast, Tom Ballard, has followed suit with a post on his personal website entitled ‘Radio Advice Stuff Things’, where he gives advice on how to get into radio. Here are a couple of exerpts.
“LISTEN. Listen to as much radio and broadcasting as you can possibly fit into your ears. Podcasts, international radio, breakfast radio, night radio, commercial, community (3RRR, SYN FM, 4ZZZ and FBi are all great), university, ABC (local, radio national, triple j), music-based radio, talkback, etc. Figure out what YOU like to listen to and what you think works.
“MAKE AND SEND DEMOS. Make demos (practice recordings) of yourself (kind of easy to do these days what with all the technology around), listen back to them and critique yourself and, when you think you’ve got something strong, make contact with a station and ask the Program Director if you can send them some of your work. They may not always be able to give you feedback, but if you consistently show them high quality, considered stuff, they’ll definitely take an interest in you. Don’t spend your whole time waiting for a response, just keep up your presence and focus on increasing your skill set and time on air.
“PLEASE BE A PERSON. Radio is awesome, but I think there’s a danger of being consumed by your interest in it. The best part of radio is hearing about life outside of it, so I think a good broadcaster is someone who has a range of other interests. Your life can’t just be talking into a microphone, that’s boring. Read books and newspapers and the internet and listen to shitloads of music and go to plays and movies and football games and exhibitions and get drunk and have sex and make mistakes…then talk about it on radio and BLOW PEOPLE’S MINDS.
Check out the full post here, and let us know your thoughts! How did you get into the industry? What advice would you give to your 19-year-old self, about to embark on a radio career?