Radiojobs

At last folk at the mighty Radio 4 power tower have seen the light and are using Radio Talent for all sorts of things. Now we really WILL be in trouble with our spelling.

Take this producer for example. He won't have a copy of the latest Zing Thing, and probably won't be hot footing it over to the Hip Hop Beds section at Puretonic, but what he will have is a extraordinarily large brain.

You see people at Radio 4 are a superior intelligence from another planet, they have extra large heads which hold things like: vocabulary, intelligence, plant facts, and how to fill an hour about women's things.

People who work at Radio 4 tend not to shout about it. They huddle around incognito and say things like "programme" and never say "show" whilst reading the Telegraph....IN LATIN!

To work at Radio 4, naturally you might need a typically English name like Harrington, Kensington Montgomery, or in this case James.

James Crawford, pictured here in front of some English hills, which he probably owns, is BBC through and through, and so if your programmes and content require a modicum more substance and acuity, James is most definitely the Gentleman for the job.

James' Page

Radio Jobs

We lovingly presented our Radio Training podcasts to a number of people. Some were seasoned broadcasters who have been in radio more than a hundred years.

One of them was a man called Bernie Simmons.

After listening to the podcasts with people like Luis Clark ( the man who employs all Heart DJS! ) and Radio 1 he was dumbstruck:

"This is vital information for anyone" he says, "Why don't you say that?" he spits.

"I felt it was a privilege to have inside information about what I need to do to work for a Heart station for instance, you really are not setting this up correctly" His wisdom exploded down the phone like a huge bomb.

"I have been in radio for years, and I really felt good after listening to them and if you keep them to yourself, that's all the better for me, but you really should shout more about how critical some of the information is on them" He goes on to say

Then came the not so positive "Why is Howard Ritchie the narrator and interviewer? He is only any good in small doses, he is like a rich chocolate you can have too much of"

We explained that Howard hardly says anything and just steers the content to help the listener, besides he was the only one able to get the interviews.

"Hmph" He says, "Well he's all over the free one about Radio Talent"

Er, well if it's an interview about the website, surely he is the only one who can explain it properly? (We calmly re-framed him).

"But I don't like the production"

At that point we explained they are designed for the "content" only and that it's not an production competition then promptly hit him in the face with a spade.

Bernie however did get some value from them and finished his review saying that he hopes we didn't take it personally and he was about to re-create his demo based on what he learned from some of the men at the top.

God! Some people.

Anyway we have some more reviewers in the interweb so you can get some more feedback soon. Alternatively you can email us to ask what you might learn, before parting with coffers for "rare and hard to come by vital intel"

Bernie is also a member ( for a few more days ) and you can review his presentation skills here... Bernie's page

Or check the podcast descriptions Radio Talent podcasts

We consistently monitor the state of play in radio land and there is a feeling that networking and budgets have caused there to be a lack of jobs in radio.

Whilst it might appear to be the case from the surface, when you actually look a little deeper you will find that acquisitions have potentially increased.

The radio landscape changing was rather like tidying bedroom drawers. You throw out some useless pants and buy a load of new ones.

When you look at line ups, there are actually more new names in new jobs than there has been for the last 5 or 10 years. There are people in jobs they never thought they would get, people who should have been taken off have been taken off, and new voices all over the place. You have to hand it to the industry for at least throwing out some pants.

Yes it's painful if networking has taken someone from a job, but not to those who now present those network programmes, who might never have before.

But it's certainly not over yet, stations and new groups are emerging, new bosses are in new stations. And so from that perspective alone, someone who was once black listed by one boss, now has another crack at the whip.

So whilst there might have been a cull for certain jobs in certain roles, new roles have been created. It just depends how you CHOOSE to look at it.

Perhaps for a long time, talent have to offer something fresh to get in, perhaps if jobs are harder to come by only the best people will get those jobs.

We have all felt it, with the changes, and so it's only up to you how you process what is happening now, and what that means to you today or tomorrow.

Radio Talent
Radio Training

Darren Altman likes to make the most of life, and certainly his value to the industry. Looking at his page is just a small proportion of what he has achieved since joining us and getting the "buzz" for marketing himself.

We always like to offer business help and advice to people that are on the site, and we have worked recently with Darren to work on his business principals as a voiceover.

He called us to talk about how to generate more work and we decided to take a close look at his current models and strategies as an artist.

We decided, which of course is not definitive, that he should specialise in developing his characters and impressions. Why? Well because we believe that is is "niche"

Everyone has a niche, and although your niche might be smaller, if you stick to it, you will own it.

Take Guy Harris for example. He is a voiceover who like Darren, can do lots of different voices. Over time Guy has generated a lot of clients based solely on his niche.

We recommended that Darren did the same.

In our business review we recommended that if he is chasing imaging, he will have a harder job. If he is chasing trust worthy voiceover jobs, slightly easier but still hard...Why? Because everyone can do that.

Not everyone can learn, develop and change their voices but Darren can, and so we thought, long term, going after an "impressions and characters" market share was much more a sensible policy... agree or disagree? share in the comments section or on Darren's Page

UK Voice Darren Altman

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