Radio Tomorrow with James Cridland
“What do you think of voice-tracking?” came a voice in Q&A after one of my presentations in New Zealand.
The question came from a man wearing a t-shirt. The t-shirt was black, with a community radio logo on the front, and on the back, in bright white capital letters: “CORPORATE RADIO STILL SUCKS”.
Voice-tracking has a bad reputation; and I can understand why. It’s been used, in many cases, as a tool to remove skilled presenters from stations; and a tool to stop stations being live. Many people feel that it is a destroyer of all that was good in radio twenty or thirty years ago.
In the country I was in, New Zealand, the feeling against voice-tracking runs strong. A devastating earthquake in Christchurch six years ago was accompanied by some radio stations – yes, the “corporate” ones – just continuing in automation mode. It caused severe damage: yet some stations took too long to come out of cheery-sounding DJs voice-tracking music as if nothing had happened.
So, voice-tracking is bad, and radio should go back to being live and local, you’d assume.
I’m not so sure. Just like any other tool, voice-tracking can be used badly or well.
Used well, voice-tracking can allow you to get stuff on the air really very quickly. We don’t need offices or studios to drive to; with an iPhone and remote access, we can get high quality information out much quicker from anywhere.
Used well, voice-tracking can ensure great radio presenters can produce some awesome radio – without sitting through commercial stopsets and three songs in a row.
Used well, voice-tracking enables the best use of great content – yes, repeating it at times (particularly at times of crisis). From repeating the best bits of a breakfast show to repeating police advice, voice-tracking is a tool to enable better radio and getting the most out of talent.
Used badly, voice-tracking and automation can make cookie-cutter radio which doesn’t look after your listeners. But then, we can do that quite adequately with live human beings if we’re not trying, too.
In many cases, I suspect that radio stations would do better by using tools like voice-tracking more often. “Live is lazy” is one, slightly over-the-top, way of saying it; but in a world where we’re seeing astonishingly good post-produced audio like the New York Times Daily podcast, it would seem sensible to ensure that our product is also as polished.
And, of course, it’s important to ensure that if you do use voicetracking, you know what to do in case of emergency, and also know how to get new content on-air from anywhere. That’s what they’re designed to do.
By all means, chase bad, ‘corporate’ radio – there’s a lot wrong with it. But voice-tracking probably isn’t one of those things.
About The Author
James Cridland is a radio futurologist: a writer, speaker and consultant on the effect that new platforms and technology are having on the radio business across the world.
He writes for publications across the world, and runs media.info the worldwide media information website. He also runs a free weekly newsletter with news of radio’s future.
British by birth, James lives in Brisbane, QLD and is a fan of craft beer.
Once upon a time (when I started in radio 54 years ago) what is now called 'voice tracking' was simply 'recorded'. And there's nothing wrong with pre-recording programmes, or parts thereof. James describes the 'problem' very well (as he always does - a man who the BBC 'lost' to their discredit) but I'd like to make a couple of observations. Radio relies heavily on engagement. The voice coming out of the speakers needs to engage with the brain at the other end. That doesn't have to be in real time. I pre-record a handful of syndicated shows each week and they are popular and successful, because I record them with the same attitude (for younger readers, this means mindset!) that I'd use for a live programme. But although recorded, they are produced in realtime. So I listen to the music I'm playing, respond appropriately and move on. Now for my full time paid job I'm a BBC television announcer-director. (Which means I speak and put the programmes to air at the same time) My voiceover end credits works best when I have watched the programme with my viewer (our audiences are always singular) and reacted in an empathetic way. At the end of a very exciting programme, I'm excited. For a sad and emotional programme, I'm sad and emotional. Or 'real' as the current generation would have it. And thereby hangs the key -radio has to be 'real' to be successful. Voice tracking without the remotest bit of engagement with what has gone before is clinical, and deadly. (I know - I've done it) and listening to it you get the sense that the presenter is a robot. It turns listeners off (often they won't pinpoint what's wrong, but they will sure as hell recognise that it ain't real) and pushes ratings down. Voicetrack or not? That's simply down to the talent and professionalism of the presenjter, a group of folk who corporate radio treat like shit. Hey, coporate radio man (and yes, I DO mean you, Richard Park, my once friend and colleague) wise up!! The balance sheet is important of course, but so are the ears attached to3 your radios!
A thoughtful piece from a man ther BBC ought not to have lost. I have - in my 54 year radio career - voice tracked, and I have not. In my day it was simple 'recorded', which nobody batted an eye at. Now although I record syndicated radio programmes for many parts of the world, my paid gig is at the BBC as a television announcer-director (i.e. we speak and push buttons). What makes that work is watching the shows WITH the viewer. I do an end credit squeeze/voiceover and empathise. If I'm pumped with excitement, so is my listener (always, always singular, people!) - if I'm an emotional wreck, so is my viewer. I always reflect that. Likewise radio - coming off the back of a piece of music requires you to have HEARD the track. Otherwise you are a dull, cold, unfeeling robot. VT works best when the presenter knows the music intimately - otherwise, it's a load of utter crap.