How To Be A Big Failure In Radio Production

It is sad to note that in some parts of the world, there are still some radio stations that broadcast in primitive ways. There are stations that seem to have come fresh from the 50s decade. There are DJs presenting their shows the way DJs did twenty years ago. And there are these producers who have been left out of time. Radio production, is unfortunately, no exception.

 

Whether it’s for a radio station imaging or for a radio commercial ad, radio production has evolved over the years. These days, radio production is no longer a process that just simply involves recording a voice, putting music and sound effects on the background, and presto! It’s more than that. But it’s pretty complex to instruct ‘some’ people though about how to properly do radio production, so instead I list here some of the most common mistakes in radio production.

1. Failure to save in .wav format. This problem has been plaguing radio producers up until now. Mp3 is good for compression, but it’s not good for editing. Most radio producers have this misconception that mp3s load faster than .wav. Your tracks lose precious sound every time you save your work file in mp3.
2. Failure to get rid of the headphones. I like to do radio production with my headphones on. But I make sure that when I get to a certain point of satisfaction, I will give my speakers a chance. Listening to an audio material via headphones is purely different from listening to it via the speakers.
3. Failure to get rid of the client or the PD. Having the PD or an advertiser staring with me at my computer monitor is a dreadful nightmare. You may give the PD a chance, but I won’t forgive the client. They will only cause you distraction. Have them leave the radio production room for a while and when you are done with something, call them and ask their feedback. But never allow them sit down with you as you do your radio production stuff.
4. Failure to research. If you are a serious radio producer, take time to research on stuff. Make sure, you got a workstation hooked to the internet. If you aren’t sure about a subject, go give it a Google.
5. Failure to say NO. Learn to say NO I can’t finish it today. Because if you’re too confident that you’ll finish your production in an hour but won’t be able to live up to what you promise, just cut it.
6. Failure to say YES. A good can-do attitude is always a must-have. Believe in your craft, believe that you will get it. Radio production is a mix of patience, creativity and above all ingenuity.

These are only some of the common pitfalls in radio production. As you may notice, these aren’t centered too much on the technical side of radio production. These are intended as behavioral guides when you do your stuff in the production room. Because if even if you have the phattest imaging and production library in the world and you have a Dave Foxx in your voice track, if you don’t have the right attitude in your production work, you will never pull through.