With jock-free radio stations becoming even more commonplace, there are many factors to consider when programming such a station. One of which – what should the imaging sound like? Rich VanSlyke discusses the issue with a pair of PDs in the first half of his two-part look at imaging a jockless station.
Rich Van Slyke
By Rich Van Slyke
“Holy crap, it’s after midnight and I forgot to change the tapes!” I was on my first radio job in the early 80s at an automated station in Cortland N.Y. Instead of DJs, there were 4 reel-to-reel machines with Top 40 music, a carousel machine containing 100 carts with spots, and a computer to sequence them all. One cart had the IDs. A voice that said, “WNOZ. 99-Nose.” That’s right, the station was called the Nose. My job was hosting a show on the AM station, changing the tapes on the FM, and making spots in the production room. Sometimes I’d forget to change the tapes. The dead air alarm would go off, the reels would be flopping like old movie projectors, and I’d have to scramble to get the tapes changed before the hotline started ringing. The jockless radio station is not a new idea. But today, automated radio stations are a bit more sophisticated. And so is the imaging. With the endless possibilities of digital technology at your fingertips, how do you image a modern radio station with no DJs? I talked to 2 Program Directors I work with every week. Kayvon Motiee, PD of KYLZ-FM, Utah’s 104-7 Cool. Classic. Rock. in Salt Lake City. And Chris O’Kelley, PD of WDRR-FM, Classic Hits 93-9 The Drive in Augusta, Georgia.
Rich: Kayvon, Utah’s 104-7 is a brand new classic rock station in the crowded Salt Lake City market, yet in less than a year, you’ve already cracked the top 10 in your target demo. You are also the PD of 97.5 The Blaze, a successful active rock station in SLC. If a PD called you up and said, “we are starting a station just like yours and we are working on imaging” what would you tell him?
Kayvon: With either format, I would start by asking the PD questions about his/her station. Who is your listener? What do they like? What do they dislike? What do they do in their free time? What do you hope they will like about your station? Who is your direct competition in the market? What do they sound like? How is your station different from their station? What do they do badly? What do they do well? You need to know the answers to ALL of these questions (and more than likely many more) before you can hire a station voice and before you start writing your imaging pieces. You need to know who you are talking to so that you can write imaging that relates to them. If you don’t know what your station is all about, you cannot write and produce imaging that will speak to your listeners on their level. Knowing your listener (or at least trying to figure them out) makes creating effective imaging much easier. You also need to decide if you want to try and mimic your competition or if you are going to try and be the antithesis of what they are all about. I am a fan of the latter. If they have a “Big Ballsy” voice, I would go after someone who is a little more natural. If they have imaging that is loud and intense, I would try to be more clever and understated. No matter what approach you take, the most important thing is to communicate to YOUR listener on his/her level.
Rich: What would you suggest as the Top 5 Imaging Goals?
Kayvon 1. Who are you and how can you explain it as quickly as possible? Your imaging statements need to be solid because your audience will hear them often. 104-7: Cool. Classic. Rock. 104-7: All About The Music.
2. Get a good imaging service! On 97.5 the Blaze I use Groove Tools. They create pieces that are easy to put together and make us stand out from the competition. Sometimes a new station without ratings will have to pay cash but often times you can run barter on another station in your cluster. Either way it is money well spent. Make sure you get your GM on board with this concept. It will make your life much easier and will make your station sound much better.
3. Audition many voice guys/gals. For 104-7 I auditioned close to 15 people before I found you, I chose you not just because of your sound, but also because you understand what I’m going for in the station. We talk a couple times a week about how the station is evolving. We talk about what we like and dislike about the station. You listen to our stream regularly. For PDs, this is the most important voice on your station. Make sure he/she is more involved than just 2 pages a month.
4. Listen to other stations in other markets. Don’t just listen for things you like. Some of the most effective pieces come out of what you don’t like.
5. Start writing. Most of what you write is no good. Keep the good stuff and weed out the bad.
Rich: What qualities do you look for in an image voice?
Kayvon: I get in trouble with this question because I disagree with many people in our industry. I believe that your voice should be just like the person that you are programming to. Nothing makes me laugh harder than when I am listening to a hip-hop station and in between the Pitbull and Fabolous records is the 60-year-old white dude doing his announcer voice. You would never hire a jock that sounds like that, so why would your station voice be that guy? I get the larger than life aspect most programmers are going for; I just think you can still achieve that with someone that is a little more relatable. I want someone who has a great voice, but still sounds like they would be listening to the station if they were not hired to talk on it. I also want someone who has some serious production chops. In today’s day and age you will find yourself in need of a promo and no time to produce it. There is nothing better than having a voice guy that can do a fully produced promo for you in a pinch.
Rich: What kind of production do you think is best?
Kayvon: As a former creative services director, I love ear candy! I can appreciate a 30 second piece that took 4 hours to create. Lots of reverb, panning, tweaking, and effects…Love it. The problem is, if that piece is poorly written, it does not matter how masterfully produced it is…it still sucks. You can polish a turd all day long…at the end of the day…it’s still a piece of shit. I like imaging that keeps sound effects to a minimum. SFX should enhance a piece, not take it over. I like production that makes me laugh, makes me think, or simply explains something to me.
Rich: What categories of imaging do you have?
Quick Sweepers: (30) These are station calls and frequencies. 1-3 seconds long. You need lots of these.
Music Image Sweepers: (20) A new station needs to be able to quickly explain what the station is all about. The best way to do this is by quick music hooks mixed together.
Utility Sweepers: (10-15) These help you come in and out of stop sets.
Promos: Don’t just throw these together. Spend time writing and rewriting. These are the station’s personality. Make sure they are quality every single time.
Commercials: Often overlooked by programmers. You can have the greatest imaging in the world and then sound like shit when you go to stop-sets. Make sure your jocks and production staff put out quality work. If they don’t, tell them to redo it. The audience does not differentiate between a station promo and a commercial. Make sure you sound good no matter where you are on the clock.
Coming soon in Part 2: 93-9 The Drive Augusta PD Chris O’Kelley says “you can’t have enough imaging!” and explains how he uses Linker to schedule, rotate, match tempo and rest over 220 different pieces of imaging on one station.
Rich VanSlyke is a voice guy/producer on WGRD, WKQZ, KYLZ, WDRR, KZND, KQWB, WGIC, WJLT, MORE 94, XFM Nairobi, WKZQ, WKLR, WRXW, KZOZ, WIXO, KCBL, WSFM, KKPL, WRZK, and the image voice for FMQB’s Inside Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue. Got a question about imaging? Drop him a line at richvs@bellsouth.net or to hear some demos, go to www.richvanslyke.com.
