The Industry

I have always wanted to get a broader look at the business here on the blog. However, I have focused a lot on on-air talent. Luckily, again through the magic of twitter, I connected with Matt Van Essen. How did it come about? Basically, Matt worked with Ceara K, who contributed to the blog not to long ago, and so I thought it would be cool to follow the naturally forming web and see if Matt wanted to get on board… and he did! The best part is that he is a producer, a completely different side from what we’ve had in the past.

For those who are not as familiar with the various positions at a radio station, a producer is basically responsible for creating, loading, maintaining and updating things like commercials, or the little station ID’s (also known as splitters) among other things. With that in mind let’s here about Matt’s journey into the business.

I started my radio career at BCIT.  I headed straight there from high school and loved every minute of it.  I finished off BCIT in 2004 with a practicum at SunFM in Kelowna and as soon as my practicum was done I was hired on doing part-time production and got thrown some on location summer team promo stuff on top of that.  At the end of the summer I started full time at SunFM/Oldies 1150 mainly doing production, but also voice tracking weekends on the SunFM network as well as on Oldies1150.  I also got to do remotes which are always good for the paycheck.  It was a lot of fun working at a station I listened to all through high school.  I learned a lot in good ‘ole K-town.  After two and a half years in Kelowna I applied for a job posted on Milkman for production in Calgary.  I got the job and headed to CJAY92/Vibe98.5/AM1060 in Calgary doing commercial prod.  About a year and a half ago I took over the imaging production for Vibe and this past spring was part of the 98-5 VIRGIN Radio launch with Ceara K who you recently profiled.  I now do all the imaging for VIRGIN Calgary which is a ton of fun.
 
 
What were/are your biggest challenges?
 
I think one of the big challenges of producing is staying fresh and not producing the same promo over and over again.  It’s easy to fall into the routine of using the same vocal effects and stutters over and over and kind of going into automation when you get a new script.  You have to keep experimenting.  Look at the script from a different angle. 
 
 
Advice for new/aspiring broadcasters
 
Find people you respect and admire in the area of broadcasting you want to go into and send them your work for critiques.  I still send prod scopes and different pieces I’ve worked on to people I respect for their opinions and tips.  It can be intimidating, but it’s worth getting over the lack of confidence.  I have found even the smallest insight into something you do, or a little tip you didn’t know about can quickly jump your work up to the next level.  It’s also a great way to network and get your name out there. 
 
Hangout with your co-workers.  Learn from them.  I have worked with Ryan Stockert, who is a phenomenal producer, for the last four years and have learned a lot from him.
 
Producers, (especially if you want to go into imaging) keep writing once you leave school.  Don’t stop because you don’t want to go into copy.  A producer with writing chops is a huge bonus and sometimes a necessity.  Listen to other producers work from around the world.
 
Have a life.  Go to movies, concerts, travel, snowboard, talk to people… whatever it is you love doing.  Get out of your little studio bubble.  Real life is the best place for creative inspiration and ideas. 
 
Be a team player, be adaptable and stay humble.
 
Most of all enjoy what you do!
 
 
What do you think is in the near future for our business?
 
You know, I’m not really sure.  Technology  and trends are always changing, but the basics, the foundation stays the same.  Connect with your audience, be entertaining and engaging.  I guess the future is PPM, which unfortunately at the moment I don’t think is much more accurate than diaries because the sample size is too small.  It has great potential though.   We’ll have to keep fine tuning the best ways to implement those basics into a PPM system.
 
 
Anyways dude, I hope there are a couple of useful things in there.  All the best to you sir!  I enjoy reading your radio biz profiles.
 
Cheers,

Matt Van Essen
98.5 Virgin Radio Imaging Producer
Astral, Calgary 

It’s cool to see that Matt was able to make his way through BCIT (the same school I just graduated from in June) and make his way to Calgary and quickly.

I think there is a lot of great information in here for aspiring producers. I particularly liked the bit about being able to write commercials as well as produce them, because like Matt said, it makes you in-disposable. However, nothing beats the bit of advice “get out of the studio bubble”. I find this funny, because it is so easy to find yourself walking into work, doing your job and leaving, but radio, as I’m learning, is too much fun to just keep to yourself. Get to know people!

I want to say thanks again to Matt for sharing his story and if you would like to follow his awesome example and contribute to the blog, you can send your advice and story to: share@theradioindustry.com or if you would like to voice your opinion on anything you have read on the blog, or add to Matt’s thoughts, you can send me an email to feedback@theradioindustry.com

Mitch