July 2008 RAP
July 2008 Highlights
Q It Up: The RAP Network Speaks! - Cheap Voiceovers:
Right or Wrong?
Q It Up: Have you dropped your voice-over rate to
ridiculous lows just to get some business and stay in the game? Have you
kept your rate on the higher end as a matter of principle or for other
reasons? What are your thoughts on the state of the voiceover rate today?
Interview: Jay Ginsberg, KZST/KJZY, Santa Rosa,
California
by Jerry Vigil
After ten years in radio, you feel like you know the game pretty well.
After 20 years, you feel like a “veteran” in the biz. When you start hitting
30 years, you know you’ve been doing something right. But the 40 year mark…
now that’s pretty amazing. This month’s RAP Interview checks in for the
first time with Jay Ginsberg, a true veteran about to enter his 40th year in
a radio career that has yet to let up. Unlike some long-timers who have
clocked a decade or two at a single station, Jay is the opposite, pushing
nearly 20 stations in his illustrious career. Currently the Creative
Director at Santa Rosa’s #1 rated station, he’s also deeply involved in the
voiceover business and even had his own production company for a good many
years. Join us for a fun trip through radioland as Jay tells us his story,
gives us some insight into his longevity, and offers up some great advice
for radio creatives, voiceover talents, and wannabe entrepreneurs. Be sure
to check out this month’s RAP CD for some awesome audio from Jay.
Production 212: My Own Multiple Personality Disorder
by Dave Foxx
I know that many of you dear readers have the weekly, if not daily,
pleasure of dealing with multiple mind-sets as you do imaging for one
station and then, for whatever reason, have to image another station. In a
previous column I openly asked for advice on this double-jointed brain
activity as I was named ringleader for the Creative Services crew here in
New York City. Up to that point, I basically had one station to worry about
all the time. Granted, it was a blowtorch of a station, but I always knew
from one day to the next what was expected. The response to that column came
from all over the world, and it was as varied as the different languages
respondents spoke. Now that I’ve been doing it for a while, I thought I’d
revisit the topic to see how far things have progressed… or deteriorated,
and give you a few tips that I have found really help me keep my sanity
(what little there is left.)
Test Drive: Blue Cat Audio Plug-ins
by Steve Cunningham
With the contentious primaries winding down and the even more contentious
election campaigns cranking up, it seemed like a good time to stop reading
about politics and go looking for some new plug-ins to review. My
never-ending search for high-quality yet low-cost plug-ins takes us this
month to France, home of Blue Cat Audio. The developers at Blue Cat are
prolific if nothing else, and their current product line consists of
thirty-seven plugs and utilities that run the gamut from dynamics to EQ to
modulation. All of Blue Cat’s plugs are for Windows XP or Vista, and come in
both DirectX and VST formats. And even with a weak dollar, most are a
bargain and several are flat out free.
Radio Hed: A Day in Your Life
by Jeffrey Hedquist
A day in your life provides almost endless opportunities for commercial
ideas. Describe all the activities in an ordinary day and you’ll find
stories that can be adapted to advertisements for many advertisers. Here are
some of the activities in a typical day of a mythological person in Anytown,
USA. Alarm goes off. You get up and talk to yourself, or listen to the
thoughts in your head: “List of things to do today – visit advertiser…” Do
you sing in the shower? “Sing (briefly) about anticipating today’s
adventure, augmented by the benefits of the advertiser’s services.” Prepare
breakfast. We overhear kitchen conversations: “Family discussion, kid’s
demands, spouse’s remarks about a problem that can be solved by the
advertiser”
...And Make It Real Creative - Summer Pop Quiz
by Trent Rentsch
Just when you thought it was safe to start your summer goofing off, I’m
about to spring a pop quiz on you. Don’t worry; it’s short, it’s an open
book quiz, and it’s also multiple choice (don’t count on the answer always
being “C,” however. I can only make this so easy). The correct answer is
also painfully obvious. If it’s not, well, we’ll talk about that at the end
of the period. Pencils up, paper over, here we go... A production order
lands on your desk, asking for The Beatles, “Do You Want to Know a Secret”
as the background music. Do you: A. Go dig through the library at the Oldies
station, B. Remind the Sales Rep that using unlicensed music is illegal, C.
Go have a screaming fit in the General Manager’s office.
The Monday Morning Memo: The Faded Color of Empty Words
by Roy H. Williams
Advertising isn’t working like it did a few years ago. You’ve noticed
this, right? Most advertisers are convinced that technology is to blame. TV
advertisers will tell you that TiVo and her sister Digital Video Recorders
are blocking their television ads. But according to a recent report released
by Leichtman Research Group, only 12 percent of American households own a
DVR. But TV ad results are down far more than 12 percent. Radio advertisers
will tell you that everyone is listening to iPods and satellite radio. But
in truth, most of radio’s loss has been in the 12 to 17 year-old age group.
These pre-adults are now spending only 51 quarter-hours per week listening
to commercial radio, down from a zenith of 65 quarter-hours per week during
the pre-Internet 80s and early 90s. The rest of us are listening about as
much as we ever did. We wake up to radio alarm clocks and listen at work and
in our cars. Overall, the audience for commercial radio has declined only
about 4 percent over the past 3 years. But Radio ad results are down far
more than 4 percent.
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