The Industry

     What a crazy awesome day. Today I had the opportunity to go hang out in the control room with Scott McGregor, the afternoon drive announcer on 107.3 Kool FM. If you are not from Victoria, Kool fm is an AC/Top 40 format station that has some fantastic ratings. In this post I’ll share my experience and Scott’s email that he sent me a couple days ago chalked full of awesome advice!

Kool FM is owned by CTVglobemedia and they share an incredibly kool (pun) building with CFAX 1070 and A Channel Victoria (a TV station). The outside of this building is incredibly deceptive. It looks like an old building, but once you go through the doors everything is ultra-modern and I have to say they have the best station set-up I have ever seen. They have 2 patios overlooking the city, brand new equipment and vintage tv’s and radios lining the walls (very awesome, made me want one. It would fit nicely against my awesome vintage typewriter). Three floors of this modern lay out. On the first floor there is the actual TV set. On the second floor there were the offices/editing studios and the rest of the TV crew. The cool part about the second floor is that in the middle its all open and you can see directly into the TV studio, also very kool. Lastly, on the third floor you have the radio stations. That’s the tour! 

I met up with Scott and after he gave me the walkthrough we went and chilled in the control room where he introduced me to Brittany King (middays) who was on her way out, but not before she wrapped three ridiculously ugly ties around her neck for a picture to go on her blog for the Ugliest Tie contest… they were hideous… which is awesome. So Scott and I got talking about the blog, the station and the biz in general and this, I think would be the best time to share Scott’s email.

 

Hey Mitch,

 

Wanted to send you some thoughts on radio and wanted to keep it as radio-centric as possible.  So for what it’s worth, here we go…

 

Couple things I would say are a must for anyone getting into or planning a long-term radio career. 

 

First and foremost: Be Humble or Be Humbled.  Let’s be real…it’s only radio.  Have you ever been introduced as “that guy from the radio” to someone who doesn’t listen to your station?  It will happen.  “Hey Gary, meet the coolest guy in the world…who you’ve never heard of!!” You might as well work at Home-Depot (not that there’s anything wrong with working at the Home Depot). It’s funny cause at first you’re so honored to be recognized by someone…then you realize not everyone thinks your as big of a deal as “random guy who knows you”.  Instead, be grateful - someone took the time to care about what you do.  Think about how busy the average person is and remember there are 100000 other radio/tv/internet/newspaper people out begging for their attention.  You’re lucky if someone can remember to tune in and give a crap about what you’re doing. 

 

Outside the Radio Station: When you go out, you’re going out as “Guy/Girl from the Radio-Station”. Expect people to treat you as such.  If you’re a douche to the guy who doesn’t listen don’t expect him to check out your show after you give him attitude.  This is your chance to build a relationship with someone who has no bias on you or your show.  Buy them a shot at the bar, add him to facebook…chances are they will listen and keep listening.  Build your fan-base by being the person everyone wants to meet.  When you’re at the bar, get to know…and I mean really get to know the staff…let it happen organically.  Don’t walk in flashing your business card.  Be nice, tip well…go again next week – repeat.  Remember you’re building relationships here…it takes time.  A plus is that building a relationship with a local business can turn into $$ for your station.  People see you chatting up clients when they come in to voice commercials, looks great on you!  This means when you go out, you may have to be “on”.  This can get exhausting…put a smile on, it’s could be worse. 

 

Be Great to Everyone:  Every single person you meet is a potential Radio Contact - from the Traffic Coordinator to the Promo Assistant.  You never know where someone is going to be in 5 years.  If the morning guy needs you to help him move, be the person he can rely on.  If the night time guy needs you to lie to his girlfriend and say he wasn’t kissing someone random girl while dancing on the bar over the weekend…do it!  Don’t worry; chances are they were going to break up anyways.  This again is about building relationships for the betterment of your career.  If you’re the person everyone can trust and count on…they are now someone you can use as a radio reference/contact.  I can’t stress enough don’t be nice, be GREAT!  A radio is a small business in Canada…if you’re great to everyone…you won’t need to toot your own horn cause everyone else will be doing that for you today, tomorrow and 10 years later in your career. (An easy way to be humble is have everyone else do all the gloating for you)

 

The Secret to Success: There is a magical secret to being successful in radio – WORK HARD.  That’s it. Work your ass off.  Whatever you’re doing, be the best at it.  If you land a gig as a Remote Set-up person…don’t think of it as a drag.  Think of it as your chance to show everyone you can do it all.  If you can’t be good at setting up a remote, do you think they’ll trust you with an On-Air shift?…not likely.  I’m sure you’ve heard someone on the radio and thought they didn’t sound great, but chances are they proved themselves over a long period of time to be reliable.  Some stations just want someone they know can fill in a pinch and sound decent.  If it means you have to spend a year getting up early on Saturdays even though you have a non-radio full time job that pays more and is less hassle…you gotta do it.  The people who are the most successful are those work the hardest.  Look around, is there someone working harder than you?  Make sure there isn’t.  Be the best at what you’re doing, then ask for a new challenge – BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE - You’ve just been promoted.

 

That’s all I got.  These are a few things that have worked for me.  Maybe they won’t work for you. 

 

Scott

I can’t agree more with Scott. One of the things he said today that really stuck with me is that radio is a lifestyle not just a career. This might sound like a weird/foreign thought if you are not in the business yet but it is so true. It truly is hard to explain the camaraderie involved in radio to someone that has never experienced it.  However because radio is so hard to explain to “outsiders” (to the industry, not that horrible book I had to read in grade 7) Scott says it’s easy to find yourself completely immersed in radio. You may find yourself only hanging out with people from the station and he says this is toxic. Just with any job we all need to be able to escape it. Yes, we do it because we love it, but we also love doing other things. His advice to combat this… be friends with people who aren’t in the business. The friends that you hang out with because they to like to spend 30 bucks on junk food at a time and watch the box set of 3rd Rock from the Sun… just me… really?! 

Overall I have to say today was really kool. I got to meet everyone from reporters, to sales people and promotions gurus and like Scott says you’re always networking and building relationships in this biz. Although I have only been away from working at a station for 20 or so days it feels like home anytime I walk into a station and so I put it out there one more time… I’m still unemployed and will work for you! Yes, I mean it! If you are not around Victoria/Vancouver it doesn’t matter I will come to your station for an interview or just to meet you… this means you people from Edmonton, Grande Praire, Red Deer and Toronto and Halifax regions… I know you’re there! Send me an email (mitch.hawes@gmail.com) I have brand new interview clothes and they are getting dusty HAHA. 

With that aside I would like to thank Scott McGregor for taking time out of his day today to let a curious newbie to the business come in and shoot the breeze and also for his contribution to the blog! You can listen to him live for one more week on 107.3 Kool Fm before he gets married and moves back to Alberta! Wish him luck and if you want to track him (not in the stalker way…) you can follow him on twitter @scott_mcgregor

WOOHOO

- Mitch