May 2005 RAP
May 2005 Highlights
Feature: Back to the Future - An '80s Guy Builds a
State-of-the-Art Studio
By Todd Bolitho
My most recent studio project evolved as an answer to frustration over
recording quality in my blanket-covered office. The new studio did not begin
as a commercial venture, but it has become one. This new studio came out
right. Like the first one, built with my carpenter friend, all sound
isolation issues were resolved before construction ever began. Like that
first studio, I had a lot of help building it. Like Sound Suite, the rooms
are finished wood with acoustical treatments. I learned a lot during the
process. There were costly mistakes along the way, and while it probably
couldn't have turned out much better, I could have done the same for less
money. I hope my experience can help you in your studio design.
Interview: Stewart Byars, Production Director/Mornings,
WCMT-AM/FM, WCDZ-FM, Martin, Tennessee
By Jerry Vigil
Stewart Byars made RAP Awards history by being the first person to tie
himself for the 1st Place trophy in a category. In his case, he took home
two trophies for Best Small Market Promo. (He also walked off with 1st
Runner-up and Finalist awards in the same category!) No question we had to
check this guy out. And a pleasant visit it was. We've stopped at small
market radio many times before in these pages, but Martin, Tennessee might
be one of the smallest markets on the tour. Total population? Around
12,000... maybe. Thunderbolt Broadcasting has three stations in this market
where numerous stations penetrate the airwaves from other town and cities
miles away. Stewart is their Production Director. In this months RAP
Interview, Stewart tells us the creative stories behind his award winning
promos, gives us a glimpse of small market radio that's fun, and shares some
of the reasons why small market can be a "destination" for some rather than
a stepping stone or training ground.
Test Drive: Samplitude Professional 8.0
By Steve Cunningham
Can it really be five years since we last looked at Samplitude? As
Groucho Marx once remarked, "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a
banana," which has nothing to do with this months review of Magix's
Samplitude Professional version 8. But clearly we have some catching up to
do, and Ill point out the new stuff along with some of the existing features
to jog your memory.
Production 212: Keeping Your Listeners Right Where You
Want Them
By Dave Foxx
Last month I started giving a synopsis of my recent speeches at a
regional radio convention in Morgantown, West Virginia. It was a great
learning experience for me, beyond seeing some new geography. I discovered
that regardless of what size market one is working in, we all tend to make
the same mistakes, and we all tend to reach the same conclusions about our
audience, most of which are either dead wrong or skewed beyond reasonable.
I ended things last with a plea to programmers to not cede their audience to
the competition during commercial breaks, saying that the listeners don't
tune out because of commercials they tune out because of bad commercials!
Then I promised some ideas about how to keep your audience from punching
out. So this month, this space is directed mainly to Program Directors, with
special interest for Production Directors.
Radio Hed: Word of Mouth
By Jeffrey Hedquist
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, right? That's what your
clients have been telling you for years. Its also one of the easiest ways to
create an effective spot.
...And Make It Real Creative:
By Trent Rentsch
Imagine my surprise this morning when I walked in the bathroom and found
this old man staring at me. Deep wrinkles, light brown hair peppered with
white (not gray, WHITE!), the spare tire and slouch of the inactive aged.
And the most surprised, dumbest expression you've ever seen really, I've
seen dopey, shocked expressions before, but this geezer had to be a total
moron. And as it turns out, he was. A moron looking into a mirror.
The Monday Morning Memo: Media's Missing Mass
By Roy H. Williams
Back in the days when every teenage boy dreamed of outrunning a police
cruiser, the wisdom handed down from aging speedsters was, "Remember son,
you cant outrun them radios." The fact that policemen were constantly
connected by 2-way radios was mind-boggling to us. When we wanted to contact
someone, we had to pull over and drop a dime into a pay phone. FedEx and fax
machines did not exist. Long distance news required a Western Union telegram
or an expensive, person-to-person telephone call. Carrying a phone in your
pocket was pure science fiction. Sending an email from a home computer was
too ridiculous to even be credible fantasy.
Just as yesterdays speedsters were told that we shouldn't run because "you
cant outrun them radios," a new generation is saying to today's advertisers,
"A phony promise may fool one of us, but that one will tell the rest of us.
You cant outrun cell phones and email."
|